
Class .TJC ; t-C- 4- 
Book.^ 






GpiglitN*- 



CfjOPXRIGHT DEPOSIT. 



C|)e f^igj) Call 



trijc m^if Call 




By ERNEST M. STIRES 

Rector of St. Thomas's Church, New York 



"If the trumpet give an uncer- 
tain sound who shall prepare him- 
self to the battle?" / Cor. xiv: 8. 



NEW YORK 

E. P. DUTTON & COMPANY 

1917 






Copyright, 1917, by 
E. P. DuTTON & Company 



DEC 2S 1917 

©GI.A48111 



To my Son 

Ernest Van Rensselaer Stires 

In France with the 

American Ambulance Field Service 

From May to October^ 1917 

and 

To the One Hundred and Fifty-One 

Men of St. Thomases Parish now 

in the National Service on Land^ 

on the Sea, and in the Air, 

this booh 

is affectionately dedicated. 



CONTENTS 

Paqb 

I American Ideals and the Great War 1 

"Look Unto The Bock Whence Ye Are Hewn." 
February 18, 1917. 

II The Sword of Justice 15 

"/ Game Not To Send Peace, But A Sword." 
March 4, 1917. 

III The Signs of the Times 29 

"Can Ye Not Discern The Signs Of The TvmeaV* 
March 18, 1917. 

IV Loyalty: Its Cost and Worth 41 

"He Bearing His Cross Went Forth" 
March 25, 1917. 

V Victory: Apparent or Real 53 

"// Thou Hadst Known In This Thy Day The 
Things Which Belong Vnto Thy Peace!" 

April 1, 1917, 

VI The Greater Glory 65 

"The Sufferings Of This Present Time Are Not 
Worthy To Be Compared With The Glory Which 
Shall Be Revealed In Us." 

April 8, 1917. 

VII Words and Deeds 77 

"Bear Ye One Another's Burdens, And So Fulfil 
The Law Of Christ." 

April 15, 1917. 

VIII Practical Patriotism 89 

"Shall Your Brethren Qo To The War, And Shall 
Ye Sit Here?" 

April 22, 1917. 



Paob 

IX A Principle of Interpretation 101 

"Ood Is Light, And In Him Is No Darkness At AU." 
April 29, 1917. 

X Teach and Trust 115 

"Ee Taught Them As One Having Authority, And 
Not As The ScHhes." 

May 6, 1917. 

XI The Rediscovery of God and Humanity. .127 

"/ Saw A New Heaven And A New Earth." 
May 13, 1917. 

XII "Hurry Up!" 141 

"The King's Business Required Haste." 
May 20, 1917. 

XIII A Charge to Soldiers Enlisted in the 

King's Army 151 

"Thy Kingdom Come." 
October 28, 1917. 

XIV Make Democracy Safe for the World. .167 

"/ Saw Heaven Opened." 
November 11, 1917. 



THIS book appears solely because 
of the desire of some who heard 
these sermons to possess them in 
this form. It does not attempt through 
excellency of speech or of wisdom to pre- 
sent novel viewpoints, nor to discover un- 
suspected solutions for the critical world- 
problems. It is an endeavor to hear a 
high call, to transmit it clearly, and to ex- 
plain and apply its implications. The ef- 
fort has the freedom of coming from the 
heart of a minister to people whom he 
knows and loves, and it possesses the limi- 
tation of being addressed solely to one 
homogeneous group. It is hoped, however, 
that there will be found herein no serious 
lack of reasonable and sympathetic under- 
standing of humanity. The volume may 
make a small claim to interest, as one 
example of the way in which the Church 
in a fateful year has faced the national 
problems, interpreted them to the people, 
and called for the fullest measure of de- 
votion to the cause of God, of country, and 
of all mankind. 

We believe in peace, the peace of God, 
not of Satan; of honor, not dishonor; of 



victory for right, not of surrender to evil ; 
and to restore and maintain such a peace 
we are willing to give our lives. When 
the statement is made that before April, 
1917, we were at peace, and that since 
then we have been at war, the remark is 
only superficially true. Looking more deep- 
ly, you discover that for months before last 
April we were at war; the horrors of Bel- 
gium, the tragedy of the Lusitania, the 
German pledges solemnly made and cyni- 
cally broken, troubled the conscience of 
America. These were months of desperate 
spiritual warfare, and there were "multi- 
tudes lu the valley of decision" until last 
April, when we found peace for our souls 
through the determination to fight for 
right and truth. 

It is a comfort to find that we are not a 
sordid people, that we are valuing our 
food and money because through these we 
can help heroic nations to live and win. 
Today we know that we do not live by 
bread alone, but by the great words which 
come from God — truth, justice, freedom, 
humanity. As America takes her place 
in the line she gives thanks for the peace 
in her soul, for her share in the holiest 
crusade this earth ever knew, and for her 
invincible faith m the triumph of right. 

St. Thomas's Rectoey, 
December 6, 1917. 



'Ctje fligl) Call 




Attwriran Mt^ls an& % (^ttvA War 

(February 18, 1917) 



'Look unto the bock whence yb 



ABB HEWN/' — Isaiah 51 : 1. 



NATIONAL days are of high value; 
whether they recall important 
historic events, or whether they 
commemorate the birthdays of men 
whose devotion and ability founded or 
guided or saved a nation. Whatever 
stimulates the exercise of thoughtful, 
grateful memory increases wisdom and 
courage, and builds a greater struc- 
ture upon the firm foundation of tested 
principles. 

Such use of memory is constantly 
commanded in the Word of God. Moses 
warned the people, "Thou shalt remem- 
ber all the way which the Lord thy God 
led thee;" and seven centuries later 
Isaiah gives similar counsel, "Look unto 
the rock whence ye are hewn." To me 



The High Call 



these words seem filled with timely 
meaning for our country, throwing clear 
light on our ideals, our rights, our 
duties; and they have all the arresting 
power of a sharp command. 

The approaching anniversary of Wash- 
ington's birth sees his country threat- 
ened by the greatest peril. Not merely by 
war — there are greater dangers than 
war; and not from without, but from 
within, where the evil is more subtle 
and deadly. At the moment the nation 
is not united, but divided in thought and 
feeling. This condition is not the 
result of careful study and conscientious 
reasoning followed by different conclu- 
sions — that is a healthy, normal, frequent 
experience. No, our lack of unity to-day 
is caused largely by ignorance and 
selfishness. Between the Atlantic and 
Pacific coasts there are more than fifty 
million people who must be ignorant 
of American ideals, who must have for- 
gotten Lincoln's description of the nation 
which our fathers founded upon this 
continent, conceived in liberty, and 
dedicated to justice and humanity, and 
who do not feel that we have been con- 
secrated to keep and extend those 
principles. 



American Ideals 



It is not strange tliat ignorance of 
our own ideals has led to ignorance of 
the ideals of other nations. To ignore 
these is selfish and perilous ; to misrepre- 
sent them is unjust and most perilous. 
Yet many millions of our citizens ignore 
or confuse the two contradictory sys- 
tems which are engaged in a death 
grapple in Europe. "Is it nothing to 
you, O ye who pass by?" 

Even our present crisis is not under- 
stood. Many were indignant at Ger- 
many's brutal order of January 31, were 
wrathfuUy insistent that her Ambassa- 
dor should go, are annoyed that our 
harbors are congested, and our freight 
trains blocked for hundreds of miles. 
But they do not know what it is all 
about, and except where it incon- 
veniences them, they do not seem to care. 
A thoughtful friend of mine gave me a 
graphic illustration of this several days 
ago. He said, "You can imagine a man 
entering a bar-room, and followed a little 
later by two other men who engage in 
a row which grows into a fight. The 
first man takes no interest in the affair 
until one of the contestants treads 
heavily upon his foot, which infuriates 
him and he kicks back. But his con- 



The High Call 



tribution has no relation to the cause of 
the fight, of which he knows and cares 
nothing." Do you think it a small 
thing that the majority of people in thia 
country to-day see no more than this in 
our present position? That they know 
so little of our fundamental principles, 
that they are so blind to the cause of the 
great war, and are conscious of no par- 
ticular interest which this country 
should have in the victory of one system 
over the other in the great conflict? It 
is pitiful, and it is dangerous. 

One could wish that ignorance might 
be given as the sole and sufficient 
explanation of this condition. Unfor- 
tunately, growing possibly out of igno- 
rance, self-interest must also be alleged. 
They prefer peace. So do we, but peace 
mth honor; peace with loyalty to the 
American principles of human freedom, 
of justice for all nations, little and big, 
of the sacredness of treaties, and a 
decent respect for human life, and the 
natural rights of peaceful men and 
women and little children. IS'o true 
American can desire peace when all 
these are attacked with "frightfulness," 
and their extinction threatened, even if 
he fails to see that the success of such 



American Ideals 



an attack would make Mm the next 
victim. They believe that "we do pretty 
well when we take care of ourselves," 
to quote Mr. Mann in the House of Kep- 
resentatives, day before yesterday. Take 
care of ourselves? By all means, but 
does that mean our character, our coun- 
try's honor, or merely our mean, selfish 
skins? To take care of ourselves, our 
better selves, is our most solemn duty. 
God help us first to come to ourselves! 
They tell us, too, that the Monroe Doc- 
trine is our chief concern, that we must 
not be compelled to sit at the council- 
board when peace is made, that we have 
no interest in the Balkans or in Euro- 
pean intrigues. Have these gentlemen 
learned nothing in the last twenty years? 
Let them remember that the Monroe 
Doctrine rests mainly upon two factors : 
one is our unselfish purpose that the 
countries south of us shall have their 
chance to develop a free democracy 
unthreatened by Europe; the other fac- 
tor is our naval and military strength 
to insure this. Let the powers have 
reason to doubt our unselfishness, let 
them sneer at our forgetfulness of funda- 
mental principles, the rock whence we 
were hewn, let them despise decadent 



TJie High Call 



Americanism, and what will be tlie 
strength of the Monroe Doctrine? We 
shall possess neither sufficient character 
nor physical force to withstand attack 
from our natural enemies, or from those 
who were our natural friends, but whose 
scorn we earned. 

Of course we must sit at the council- 
board when peace is made. We can do 
that without pledging ourselves to cross 
the Atlantic with an army and navy 
whenever there is an uprising in the 
Balkans. Our friends, if we have intel- 
ligence and character enough to know 
who our friends are, will respect our 
ideals and our reasonable sphere of 
influence, as we will respect theirs. 
Justice is not dethroned because one 
great power threatened her. Humanity 
and law will be more sacred than ever 
when this contest closes. But alas for 
the nation that stood afar off, caring 
only for itself, when multitudes were 
gatJiered in the valley of decision, with 
greed and might leading one host, 
while the other was guided by honor, 
right and humanity! It is far worse 
than stupid to confuse these, or to place 
them on the same level, or to say that 
that controversy over the character of 



American Ideals 



world-policy does not concern us. We 
have entered tlie great world, we have 
far-flung colonies, we compelled the 
"open door" in Japan and we are pledged 
to it in China. These responsibilities, 
like our Monroe Doctrine, can be main- 
tained only by the friendship of those 
whose ideals are like our own. Friend- 
ship is a reciprocal relationship, and at 
this moment the nations whose ideals 
are identical with ours are fighting for 
their lives. Those who are not blind see 
that they are fighting for us, too. But 
what of those who know not their 
friends, or care not if they be in peril, 
and are indifferent to that which touches 
their own honor and security? 

Utterances of certain members of 
Congress during the last few days must 
be taken seriously because they are 
symptomatic of a national menace. A 
Democratic representative charged that 
twenty-five of the greatest newspapers 
of this country have been bribed by 
steel, ship-building and munition inter- 
ests in order to control their policy. He 
refuses to give any evidence of the truth 
of the charge, or to name a single guilty 
paper. One metropolitan journal has 
offered a large reward for the proof of 



The High Call 



the charge. It is not likely that proof 
will ever be found. 

Two days ago the Democratic Chair- 
man of the Foreign Kelations Committee 
of the Senate declared that "there 
is a cabal of great newspapers in this 
country seeking to coerce the govern- 
ment of the United States into an atti- 
tude of hostility with one of the belli- 
gerent powers." It is bad enough to 
know that we have men in Congress who 
can really believe such things, but it is 
far worse to realize that millions of our 
people will accept the statements as true. 

Add to these the speech, two days ago, 
of Mr. Mann, of Illinois, Republican 
leader of the House of Representatives, 
already quoted, and concluding with the 
pious expression, "God only knows where 
we will land if this country enters the 
war!" and you can determine without 
assistance whether a danger far worse 
than war threatens the nation today. 
Yes, "God only knows where we will land 
if this country enters the war;" and He 
only knows where we mil land if it 
should become our duty to enter and we 
fail. We may safely leave our physical 
security to Him, but He insists that we 
be the custodians of our honor, and by 



American Ideals 



our loyalty or disloyalty He judges us. 
Personally, I do not wish to be dragged 
into the doom of the disloyal. Many are 
like-minded, but the dead- weight of wide- 
spread ignorance or selfishness is crush- 
ing the free spirit of the America of 
Washington and Monroe, of Lincoln and 
McKinley. 

There is no reason for doubting the self- 
sacrificing patriotism of the whole people, 
if only they can be made to think, to 
remember, to understand. At the mo- 
ment they have forgotten ; certainly they 
do not understand. They declare that we 
in the East are urging war for the sake 
of financial gain. Do they not know that 
our sons are enlisting, the older and the 
younger, that Harvard, Yale, Princeton 
and Columbia have each enlisted nearly 
a regiment ready for training, or for 
service when needed? Do they think we 
would slay our sons for money? 

Or perhaps they believe that the cabal 
of newspapers has utterly befooled us. 
That is not fair. They often accuse us of 
sharp practice, or worse; their ancient 
sentence against us is that we are "more 
knave than fool." 

There is a third possible conclusion: 
That they themselves are mistaken ; mis- 



The High Call 



taken in their Americanism, mistaken in 
their apathy or their decision concern- 
ing the great war, and mistaken in their 
judgment of us. 

Let me suggest a possible and more 
charitable view of ourselves. We live in 
the old America, the colonial states, in 
the cities our patriot fathers helped to 
build. We walk the streets they walked; 
we kneel in churches where they knelt; 
we enter the halls which rang with their 
eloquence; and the echoes of their 
mighty messages we still can hear. In 
every time of trial they seem very near to 
us ; in every hour of doubt they bid us to 
remember the principles for which they 
fought and which they committed to our 
care; they command us to look to the 
rock whence we were hewn, and urge us 
to withhold nothing from the cause of 
liberty and humanity. 

It is a priceless privilege to live where 
they lived, to work where they worked, 
and it entails a heavy responsibility. If 
the dread experience of war shall come 
to this nation, brethren of the West, you 
will not fail ; try to believe that we, too, 
will be found faithful ; and try to believe 
that in that same spirit we are facing 
our duty in this hour. Americans can 

10 



American Ideals 



be trusted, all of them, if only they can 
be aroused. Once let tbem see clearly, 
and remember, then their action will be 
noble, worthy of all honor. 

But the nation has not come to itself, 
it does not understand. Doubtless the 
shock of war would bring enlightenment, 
helping us to know ourselves and our 
friends; but the suggestion is a sad 
confession. 

For us there are three clear duties. 
We are to remember that we live in the 
very cradle of liberty, we are to be loyal 
to the fathers, bone of their bone, rock 
of their rock. Then we are to declare 
our vision to our brethren, in the hope 
that they may see the nation's place as 
we see it. Finally, we are to know our 
true friends, across the sea, and send a 
cheer from those who remember, and 
understand, and who already in spirit 
are at their side. 

Nearly twenty years ago our Amer- 
ican ideals led us to war for others. 
Germany showed marked unfriendliness 
to us at once, and at Manila it was open 
enmity. From the first England was 
our friend, and saved us more than we 
knew. The declarations of war between 
the United States and Spain came 

11 



The High Call 



between April 23 and 25, 1898. On 
April 22, while Spain was considering 
our ultimatum, and Germany was exhib- 
iting a threatening attitude, the follow- 
ing poem was cabled from England to 
this country: 

(April 22, 1898) 

"America! dear brotherland; 

While yet the shotted guns are mute. 
Accept a brotherly salute, 
A hearty grasp of England's hand. 

"To-morrow, when the sulphurous glow 
Of war shall dim the stars above, 
Be sure the star of England's love 
Is over you, come weal, come woe. 

"Go forth in hope ! Go forth in might ! 
To all your nobler self be true, 
That coming times may see in you 
The vanguard of the hosts of light. 

"Though wrathful Justice load and train 
Your guns, be every breach they make 
A gateway pierced for Mercy's sake, 
That Peace may enter in and reign. 

12 



American Ideals 



'*Tlien, should the hosts of darkness band 
Against you, lowering thunderously, 
Flash the word ^Brother !' o'er the sea 
And England at your side shall stand — 

'^Exulting! For, though dark the night. 
And sinister with scud and rack, 
The hour that brings us back to back 
But harbingers the larger light." 

No such message have we sent to Eng- 
land in her hour of trial. France, who 
poured out her blood and treasure for 
us, has never received anything at our 
hands. To-day they fight for our ideals, 
and our nation does not know it. God 
of our fathers, in Thy mercy, bring the 
great awakening! 



IS 



(March 4, 1917) 

"I CAME NOT TO SEND PEACB« BUT A SWOED." SAINT MAT- 
THEW, X : 34. 

A LL thoughtful people believe that 
f\^ this country is about to issue a 
-^ "^ declaration of war. Whether it 
come next month, next week, or in the 
next hour, we are convinced that it is 
inevitable. It is a time for heart-search- 
ing questions, for the testing of motives, 
for clearness of vision, for consecration 
to the highest principles. We must not 
be uncertain whether war is justifiable 
for Christians, or whether the war 
which now threatens would be for us a 
righteous war. Therefore it is most 
fitting that in the house of God and in 
His presence we give reverent heed to 
this momentous matter, beseeching Him 
to help us "to perceive and know what 
things we ought to do," and to inspire 
us with courage "that we may have 
grace and power faithfully to fulfil 
the same." 

Our Lord was no mere pacifist. He 
desired peace as the supreme achieve- 
ment of mankind; a peace won by man's 

15 



The High Call 



victory over greed, hatred, and every 
base passion; peace througli self-sacri- 
fice for God and man. He hated peace 
by cowardly surrender, by the betrayal 
of truth and justice. If you are wonder- 
ing what He meant when He said, "They 
that take the sword shall perish with 
the sword," you must remember that the 
words were addressed to Simon Peter, 
who had drawn his sword to attack the 
officials sent to arrest the Master in 
the Garden of Gethsemane, and the Lord 
was commanding him to obey the law, 
and reminding him of a legal maxim 
that they who take the sword to defy 
the law, are condemned by that law to 
die by the sword. The Master invariably 
taught respect for the law in State and 
in Keligion, and He endeavored to inspire 
those in authority with a sense of 
responsibility for the just and humane 
administration of their power. 

The words of our text must also be 
considered in connection with our Lord's 
entire declaration at the time of its 
utterance. 

"Whosoever shall confess me before men, him will 
I confess also before my Father which is in heaven. 

"But whosoever shall deny me before men, him 
will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven. 

16 



The Sword of Justice 



"Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: 
I came not to send peace, but a sword. 

"For I am come to set a man at variance against 
his father, and the daughter against her mother, and 
the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. 

"And a man's foes shall be they of his own 
household. 

"He that loveth father or mother more than me is 
not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter 
more than me is not worthy of me. 

"And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth 
after me, is not worthy of me. 

"He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that 
loseth his life for my sake shall find it." 

Can anyone doubt what this means? 
The Master is declaring the supremacy 
of righteousness; the righteousness 
which He taught and lived; the right- 
eousness which denounced the "Scribes 
and Pharisees, hypocrites," and which 
compelled Him to take a whip and drive 
with force from the Father's house those 
who had made it a den of thieves. He 
demands recognition as a King of Eight- 
eousness, that we confess Him before 
the world, that no other ties or con- 
siderations shall make us disloyal. He 
tells us He knows how hard it will be at 
times, but His great victory cannot 
easily be gained, and we should do well 
to understand Him, His righteousness 

17 



The High Call 



and the conflict before us. "Do not 
mistake me," He seems to say, "I came 
not to send peace, but a sword"; He 
reveals the struggle — spiritual, moral, 
sometimes physical; and He calls men 
and nations to His standard, declaring 
"He that taketh not his cross, and fol- 
loweth after me, is not worthy of me." 

It is not strange that all the ancient 
and modern statues of Justice exhibit 
a majestic figure leaning upon a sword. 
We have not yet reached the day when 
Justice can be maintained and admin- 
istered without the physical force rep- 
resented by the sword. It is this sword 
of Justice, inspired by the righteousness 
which Christ taught, which must be 
borne by Christians and used by them 
in the name of the highest law whenever 
the Powers of Darkness threaten the 
Kingdom of Light. 

For more than two and a half years 
Justice has not been subjected to mere 
threats, but has experienced the most 
gigantic attack ever made for her utter 
destruction. Unless the rest of the 
world is hopelessly stupid or morally 
depraved it must be that Germany has 
bid defiance to Justice, Eighteousness, 
Honor and Humanity. Never in all 

18 



The Sword of Justice 



history lias a great issue been so clearly 
revealed in its simple truth for all the 
world to see, to understand, and to 
make choice for darkness or light, for 
tyranny or freedom, for treason or 
justice, for cruelty or pity. Long ago 
thoughtful Americans made decision in 
their own consciences, as in the presence 
of a righteous God, and now the accu- 
mulation of "overt acts" seem about to 
compel this country, in accordance with 
the law of civilized nations, to draw the 
sword of Justice, and stand with the 
great peoples who are giving their 
noblest to die that civilization may live. 
This country thoroughly hates war, 
and our idealism easily blinds us to 
facts; therefore we have never believed 
war possible until it came, and we have 
never been prepared for it. It is doubt- 
ful whether the American people could 
be persuaded to make war except for 
vital self-defence, or for the sake of 
humanity where America's responsi- 
bility was clear. It was this latter cause 
for which we fought nearly twenty 
years ago. The condition to-day is 
unique; it is Armageddon once more, 
the scene of a great spiritual conflict 
where the foundations of all civiliza- 

19 



The High Call 



tion, of government and humanity are 
being determined. If the United States 
knows and respects its destiny, it cannot 
be absent from that field. This convic- 
tion has been forcing itself upon a people 
whose traditions forbade entanglement 
in the affairs of Europe, but who are 
hearing to-day a call which none may 
neglect without danger of deserving the 
ancient curse of Meroz, who "came not 
to the help of the Lord against the 
mighty." 

Therefore in this solemn hour let us 
see quite clearly that if we draw the 
sword of Justice it will be drawn 
primarily not for ourselves, but for all; 
not so much that our rights shall be 
respected as that the rights of humanity 
shall be safeguarded and this world be 
made a place where peace with honor is 
possible among nations controlled by 
principles of justice and human free- 
dom. No one who knows America can 
doubt that really if we must fight we 
shall be fighting hardest for that, insur- 
ing justice for all, without which we 
could have no hope or merit of justice 
for ourselves. That our ideal is true 
and just appears from the consideration 
of some wise words of Juarez, a Spanish 

20 



The Sword of Justice 



jurist, who lived before the great 
Grotius. He said, "The foundation of 
the law of Nations lies in this, that the 
human race, though divided into various 
peoples and kingdoms, has always a 
certain unity, which is not merely the 
unity of species, but is also political 
and moral, as is shown by the natural 
precept of mutual love and pity, which 
extends to all peoples, however foreign 
they ma}^ be to one another, and what- 
ever may be their character or constitu- 
tion. From which it follows that, 
although any state, whether a republic 
or a kingdom, may be a community in 
itself, it is nevertheless a member of 
that whole, which constitutes the human 
race; for such a community is never so 
completely self-sufficing but that it 
requires some mutual help and inter- 
course with others, sometimes for the 
sake of some benefit to be obtained, but 
sometimes, too, from the moral neces- 
sity and craving which are apparent 
from the very habits of mankind." 

It is moral necessity rooted in our 
sense of world - relationship which 
awakens and arms America. 

The second consideration which in- 
fluences our country to-day is our faith 

n 



The High Call 



in the German people, and our con- 
demnation of the Hohenzollerns and the 
domination of the Prussian military 
caste. There is not time for us to discuss 
here the causes which have inexorably 
brought disaster to Germany and, 
through Germany, to all Europe. Just 
persons will discriminate. They will 
recall the old Germany of music, poetry, 
philosophy, theology, the Germany hon- 
ored by all cultivated men and women 
and beloved by little children. They 
will honor modern Germany's efficiency 
in science, in commerce, her successful 
thoroughness in dealing with many of 
the industrial problems. But they will 
condemn her folly for committing the 
ancient mistake of giving her government 
absolute power and arming it with the 
mightiest equipment for the destruction 
of human life ever devised and assembled 
on this planet. The inevitable happened. 
Germany must be freed of tyranny, 
not alone for her own sake, but for 
the sake of the world which still believes 
in her people, and honors them, and 
needs their scholarship and skill for the 
greater victories of peace and progress. 
America confidently expects the free- 
dom of the greater Germany from the 

22 



The Sword of Justice 



tyranny which has well-nigh driven a 
great people into the category of utter 
barbarians. 

A third consideration which moves 
us is the ruthless crushing of small 
nations. The crime of Belgium will yet 
call down the vengeance of Heaven; 
brave Mercier's appeal from Kaiser to 
God will not be in vain, and God will 
answer through those who have char- 
acter and courage to arm with the sword 
of Justice. 

Few realize the tragedy of Servia. 
When the story is fully told all will 
know how little blame may be given to 
her for the outbreak of the strife; 
that the thinly-veiled hypocrisy which 
we have recently experienced made 
Servia the scapegoat for the great war. 
Two days after Austria's ultimatum 
to Servia a Berlin paper bravely 
declared that the "war fury, unre- 
strained by Austrian imperialism, is 
setting out to bring death and destruc- 
tion to the whole of Europe." It utterly 
condemned the provocation of Austria 
and insisted that its demands were 
"more brutal than have ever been im- 
posed upon an independent state in the 
world's history, and can only be intended 

28 



The High Call 



deliberately to provoke war." Four 
days later, on July 29, 1914, tMs same 
courageous paper denounced the refusal 
of the German Foreign Office to accept 
England's proposal to mediate, and 
declared that such a refusal placed 
upon the German government "the most 
awful responsibility before its own 
people, before the foreign nations, and 
before the forum of the world's history." 
Servia was a pretext, as all realize now, 
but Servia has been forced to know a 
depth of bitter misery too deep for words. 

Poland, the land of brave and gifted 
people, has been compelled to eat the 
ashes of adversity and drink the cup of 
affliction. The doubtful promises held 
out to her, if she will consent to add 
shame to her suffering, can never restore 
what she has lost. 

Armenia, the cradle of Christianity, 
has been ravaged by the unspeakable 
Turk. A part of this tragic story is told 
in a volume of seven hundred pages, its 
credibility vouched for by Lord Bryce, 
and presenting a record blacker than any 
which ever before appeared in print. 
Remember, the Armenian nation has 
almost ceased to exist. Its persecution 
through infamy to death was solely 

24 



The Sword of Justice 



because it was Christian. God will 
repay througli those who bear the sword 
of Justice not in vain. 

Grateful Americans have not for- 
gotten France, though not many of us 
seem to know how much of her brave 
blood has been poured to quench the 
fire of the destroyer. What America 
can do to help France let America do 
quickly. We owe France a debt we can 
never fully repay. But we can try, and 
the thought of her and her glorious 
repulse of the invader is moving us 
deeply at this solemn time. 

But after all it is England, the land 
of our language, our faith, our prin- 
ciples, whose call is most appealing. 
True, once when a German-bred King 
governed her we were at war, but we 
were honorable foes, and we have been 
honorable friends, courteous relatives 
(a severer test, perhaps), and it is 
unthinkable that either of us should 
ever again permit the war-cloud to rise 
between us. From the Lusitania to the 
Laconia our murdered dead lay in the 
ocean's bed in each other-s arms. Over 
twenty thousand of our men enlisted m 
Canadian regiments, and a great host 
hastened directly to England and fought 



25 



The High Gall 



and died in English trenches in France. 
The beginaing of a real blood-brother- 
hood has been established, the symbol 
of an essential identity of race and 
faith, of purpose and principle. We 
are thinking thankfully of this as our 
hands tighten upon the sword of Justice. 

You are asking whether we are not 
impelled to act for our own sake. Yes, 
there are certain rights of life and 
property which we are bound to protect. 
But America is thinking to-day more of 
her duties than of her rights. Indeed, 
her rights do not greatly concern her 
until they become duties. At this 
moment she suspects that her sacred 
honor is involved, that her ideals and 
principles are demanding that she con- 
fess them before men and defend them, 
if need be, with the sword. Justice calls 
in the name of a King of Kighteousness, 
and America is about to stand forth 
with a brave and loyal answer. When 
America joins with England and France 
Justice will soon be assured for the world, 
and the sword will soon be sheathed. 

I do not trust myself to speak of 
the blessings which may come to us 
through sacrifice — a deeper unity of the 
whole nation, a clearer understanding 

2S 



The Sword of Justice 



of what it means to be an American, a 
reconsecration to tlie cause of freedom 
to which our patriot-fathers dedicated 
us, an unselfish and inspiring use of 
our great power for the rebuilding of 
Europe and the blessing of mankind. 
Then, perhaps, America might remind 
the world of Milton's noble vision: 

"Methinks I see in my mind a noble and puissant 
nation rousing herself like a strong man after sleep, 
and shaking her invincible locks. Methinks I see her 
as an eagle mewing her mighty youth and kindling 
her undazzled eyes at the full midday beam; purging 
and unsealing her long-abused eyesight at the foun- 
tain itself of heavenly radiance." 

This is no time for passionate appeal; 
the hour for action approaches. It is a 
time for clear vision, for intelligent 
decision, for the wisdom and courage 
which only God can give. If Christ so 
loves the world that He bids us bear 
the sword of Justice to save it, tell Him 
to-day He will find us ready ; that before 
this Altar we dedicate our country and 
ourselves to the Christ who died to 
save men. 



27 



(March 18, 1917) 

"Can tb not discern the siaNs o» thb timbs?" — 
St. Matt, xvi: 8. 

THE last few days have witnessed 
victories for free democracy on the 
continent of Europe so complete 
and so far-reaching as to tax our powers 
of imagination to predict the effect 
upon the whole world. Thoughtful 
Americans will see in these events our 
greatest triumph and our most search- 
ing test. For it is a triumph to behold 
the victory of those principles upon 
which our government is founded, to 
observe that "government of the peo- 
ple, by the people, and for the people" 
is not only not perishing from the earth, 
but experiencing a new birth in the 
midst of its bitterest enemies. Our 
country having made the most success- 
ful experiment in free government ever 
tried in a complete form on a vast scale 
has reason to believe that our example 
has influenced the mighty happenings 
of the past week. 

But the great republic of the West 
can waste no time in smug satisfac- 
tion. The torch of liberty must shine 

29 



The High Call 



high and clear upon the great high- 
way of the nations. Democracy's perils 
are different from those of autocracy, 
but they are just as real. Are we pre- 
pared not only to welcome new democ- 
racies, but to guide and inspire them? 
The amazing triumph of free, popular 
government should cause America to 
set her house in order, that her realized 
ideals of liberty and law may point the 
way to progress and happiness. It 
would be folly or worse to claim that we 
are now fully prepared for this high duty. 
Let us review briefly what has hap- 
pened in Germany and Russia. It began 
in Eussia, but the first effect of it was 
felt in Germany. On Wednesday, March 
14, the German Chancellor amazed his 
nation by suddenly appearing in the 
Prussian Diet where he delivered the 
the most momentous speech uttered by 
any Chancellor since Bismarck. He 
declared that the preservation of patriot- 
ism in Germany depended on giving the 
people in general an equal share in 
the administration of the Empire. "Woe 
to the statesman," he said, "who can- 
not read the signs of the times. Woe 
to the statesman who believes that after 
this catastrophe, such as the world has 

30 



The Signs of the Times 



never seen before — a catastrophe whose 
scope contemporaries and those directly 
engaged in it cannot possibly measure 
—woe to him if he believes he can start 
again from where he left off before the 
catastrophe. If he should try to put 
new wine into old bottles — woe to that 
statesman !" 

We could scarcely believe our eyes as 
we read, and all wondered what it could 
mean. So emphatic a declaration, so 
solemn a promise to an increasingly 
insistent people could hardly be broken, 
but what internal conditions could com- 
pel such vast concessions in the very 
citadel of absolutism? Yesterday the 
answer came, simple and conclusive. 
Before the Chancellor spoke, the sig- 
nificant news from Kussia had reached 
him. The movement against despotism 
and disloyalty had gathered force on 
Monday, had triumphed on Tuesday, had 
made its victory complete on Wednes- 
day. The German Chancellor was quick 
to grasp its meaning, and to discern 
the signs of the times, and to apply the 
lesson to his own nation. The rule of 
the Komanoffs is ended; Kussia is gov- 
erned to-day by a commission of twelve 
able men; preparations are making for 

81 



The High Call 



converting into a republic the most 
autocratic power on earth. Within 
eight years the people have displaced 
the successor of the Prophet in Con- 
stantinople, the "Son of Heaven" in 
Peking, and now the Czar of all the 
Russias. It is not strange that all 
autocrats, however blind to the rights 
of others, are able to read these signs. 

We cannot doubt the tremendous 
effect of all this upon Germany, and 
we recall Bismarck's prophecy, that 
when one autocrat in Europe should 
be forced to go, the other autocrats 
would soon follow. Immediately after 
the German Chancellor's speech Deputy 
Hoffman rose in the Reichstag and 
declared that "the German nation is 
bleeding for the sins of those in power. 
The revolution in Russia," he cried, 
"should be a warning to our rulers." 
It is hard to believe that these words 
were uttered in Berlin, and that the 
speaker has not been imprisoned. A few 
days earlier it would have been treason, 
now it is a sign of the times. 

Do you not feel the relationship of all 
this to our struggle for freedom and 
self-government? Some of the brave 
words uttered in the Reichstag last 

82 



The Signs of the Times 



week sound like the echoes of our 
Patrick Henry. You will recall that 
shortly after the Kusso-Japanese war, 
the Zemstvos, or deliberative assemblies 
in Russia made wise and courageous 
suggestions for a larger participation 
and representation of the people in the 
government. This resulted in 1906 in 
the formation of the Duma or general 
representative congress, which has 
exerted a powerful influence for the 
cause of Russian freedom. In that very 
year Count Cassini, the Russian embas- 
sador to the United States, was told by 
one of our clergy who had the privilege 
of meeting him in this city, that the 
proclamations of the Zemstvos and of 
the Duma sounded in form and spirit 
strangely like our Declaration of Inde- 
pendence, and promised much for the 
progress and true greatness of the 
Russian people. The Ambassador agreed 
that there was prophetic significance 
in it. Yet no one could have expected, 
such a fulfilment in a little more than 
ten years. It rings out "the divine 
right of Kings,'' but it rings in the 
diviner right of human freedom. All 
who love liberty and truth are rejoic- 
ing — Russia's allies because of her con- 



The High Call 



quest of herself, and her inevitable 
increase in spirit and force. America's 
joy is deeper; we recognize a new and 
intimate kinship with one of the 
greatest and most promising peoples 
of the earth; we greet a strong ally in 
the cause of free government. 

Our heavy responsibility at this time 
has been indicated. Our history will 
tempt new democracies to follow our 
lead — our inspiring beginning, our train- 
ing in early days by as able and devoted 
leaders as any people ever possessed, 
our sound Constitution, our vast wealth 
and manifold blessings, the lofty ideal- 
ism which has generally influenced us 
at critical times — all this gives us the 
power of moral leadership. We dare not 
hesitate in the face of such an oppor- 
tunity, but a heart-searching question 
blocks our way — are we fit to lead? 
Let us test ourselves to see whether we 
possess in sufficient degree three very 
reasonable essentials of a self-governing 
people — intelligence, sympathy and 
firmness. 

Our general intelligence is considered 
to be high; our people are alert, clever, 
though their keenness is apt to take 
the direction of financial advantage. But 

34 



The Signs of the Times 



we have not intelligently united the 
nation by a wise instruction and assim- 
ilation of our alien citizenship; we 
have not inspired the whole body with 
the vision of an American ideal and 
an American purpose. Therefore Amer- 
ican patriotism is a somewhat uncer- 
tain force, of tremendous power when 
informed and aroused, but seldom intel- 
ligently informed and therefore not 
often dreaded by its enemies. "Where 
there is no vision the people perish;" 
it is fortunate for us that new democra- 
cies are looking to us ; it is an inspiring 
appeal to our intelligence, to our moral 
vision, and gives us an incentive for 
intensive development which we dare 
not neglect. But without probing very 
deeply we discern that our national 
intelligence demands immediate and 
radical treatment before we may safely 
lead others. 

Americans are accounted sympathetic. 
There is every reason why they should 
be so. We have known the difficulties 
of a young, weak nation, striving for 
a place. We are composed of all races, 
and, to a large degree, of the poor or 
persecuted. We have attained wealth 
and power. We should have the knowl- 

35 



The High Call 



edge and tlie desire to use our blessings 
nobly. Some of our people are among 
tlie most generous souls in this world. 
Many are not grateful, generous or even 
helpful; they are utterly selfish. This 
applies not only to many persons of 
large means who strive to "get all they 
can, and keep all they get/' but it applies 
equally to a vast number of people of 
moderate means, who are impelled b}^ 
that same motive. We have some 
anxious problems in America requir- 
ing the highest order of intelligence and 
sympathy for their solution. Dare we 
say that these forces are being mobilized 
for that high purpose? We have re- 
gretted the sufferings of Belgium and 
the rest of Europe. We have regretted 
the loss of so many American lives on 
the high seas. But S3mipathy is a word 
of power, of self-sacrificing action. 

We can make little pretence to firm- 
ness. Liberty easily degenerates into 
license both in our government and in 
the people generally. We are in danger 
of forgetting that liberty is impossible 
without the firm administration of law. 
Some of our people have forgotten 
what America really stands for, some 
never knew, some do not care. It is not 

36 



The Signs of the Times 



strange, therefore, that it is difficult to 
make them protect what they do not 
value. The lack of protection has 
resulted in not merely a weak foreign 
policy, but practically in none at all. The 
case at home has been little better. 
The failure to deal wisely and sym- 
pathetically with our domestic problems 
has encouraged crises which have 
revealed pitiful weakness in our gov- 
ernment. One such crisis we have been 
facing during this eventful week; we 
have been threatened with a nation-wide 
railroad strike. At a time when the 
country was on the verge of war, when 
food supplies were small in quantity 
and high in price, a condition making 
the situation of the poor most pitiful, a 
group of some three hundred thousand 
comparatively well-paid men, whose case 
was being considered by the Supreme 
Court — the very foundation of our 
liberties, chose this time for a threat to 
imperil the nation, to paralyze industry, 
to starve our cities, in order that in 
defiance of law they might force the 
payment of more money for themselves. 
Some of their leaders may be pro-Ger- 
man, others may be anti-British, others 
may be simply selfish, caring nothing 

37 



The High Call 



for the country, for humanity, or for the 
law. But whatever the reason, there 
is something sinister in the threat, 
and it behooves good Americans to be 
watchful and firm. The President's 
pathetic appeal to the Brotherhoods 
sounded strangely like governmental 
weakness and timidity. 

You must not mistake me. America 
is not going to fail at this critical hour. 
We are great enough to desire to know 
the truth, and wise enough to learn. A 
crisis brings out our best, and a crisis is 
at hand. In our early years the sense 
of personal responsibility was strong, 
therefore we became a real nation. We 
must recover the power of individual 
responsibility to increase the intel- 
ligence, to develop and direct sympathy, 
to insure firmness in the administra- 
tion of law. Those who are strong in 
knowledge, power or wealth must set 
the example of self-sacrificing devotion 
to country and humanity. Our financial 
kings and merchant princes must, with 
other kings, exchange the divine right 
to rule for the divine right to serve. 
Nor can the leaders of organized labor 
hesitate to join in this patriotic service. 

38 



The Signs of the Times 



"Can ye not discern tlie signs of the 
times?" A power that makes for right- 
eousness is sweeping over this earth; 
governments must justify themselves ; 
rights must be deserved ; privileges must 
be earned; institutions and powers are 
being tested. And all this for the sake 
of human happiness. The kingdoms of 
this world are becoming related in the 
unity of a greater Kingdom. O men 
and women to whom God hath for a 
little while entrusted mighty power, use 
it nobly I Lead the way, that America 
may lead. 

"The dead have been awakened, shall I 

sleep? 
The world's at war with tyrants, shall 

I crouch? 
The harvest's ripe, and I pause to reap. 



I slumber not, the thorn is in my couch. 
Each day a trumpet soundeth in my ear. 
Its echo in my heart." 

Again before God's altar we ask His 
blessing upon us as we go to serve our 
country and the whole American peo- 
ple; upon this nation as it answers the 
call of new democracies ; and upon those 

80 



The High Call 



free people whose faithful watchmen 
have hastened the coming of a brighter 
day. 

"Can ye not discern the signs of the 
times?" Our Lord's question is a clear 
call to America. May we be ready 
with a wise and loyal answer! 






40 



SIngattc: Jta (Haat anb Hortlj 

(March 35, 1917) 

"He BEAKiNa His cross went forth/' — Saint John xix: 17. 

THIS is a time of clear definition. 
Ideals are being analyzed, prin- 
ciples are being tested, and great 
words are slowly beginning to represent 
the great ideas for which they have 
too vaguely stood in the past. Within 
a few weeks millions of Americans have 
come to understand better what are our 
American ideals, and what are the 
essentials of a just and free govern- 
ment. This generation has realized 
but remotely what freedom is, what it 
has cost, what it must cost, and how 
infinite is its value. All this is becom- 
ing clearer; duty is more sharply 
defined; an intelligent, sincere, deter- 
mined patriotism is taking form. There 
is opposition, of course, misunder- 
standing, misrepresentation, some self- 
ishness, some lack of loyalty, and 
perhaps some rank disloyalty. These 
are invariable results of a courageous 
declaration of principles and an honest 
effort to apply them. As Christians 

41 



The High Call 



and citizens we know something of the 
meaning of loyalty, something of its 
cost and worth. To-day we should be 
able to learn much more. 

In our Christian year we call this day 
Passion Sunday, for at this time, and 
increasingly in the following days, the 
shadow of the cross fell upon the road 
the Master travelled. St. Luke tells us, 
"He steadfastly set his face to go to 
Jerusalem," where persecution awaited 
Him, the denial and desertion of His 
friends, and death, before the victory 
could be won. 

In the first year of our Lord's public 
ministry He declared the character of 
His kingdom; the second year was a 
year of opposition because of His 
application of His principles, and His 
call for obedience; the third year was 
a time of persecution, the Darkness 
hated the Light. The Master's path 
gradually contracted until at the last it 
was very narrow, very definite, and it 
led without a turn to a little hill called 
Calvary. To Him it was all quite 
natural, quite essential, and so far was 
He from repining that He gladly en- 
dured it "for the joy that was set 
before Him." He had made the issue, 

42 



Loyalty 



light against darkness; tlie conflict was 
inevitable, and He was ready. 

St. Paul speaks of having a sense ot 
fellowship in our Lord's sufferings. 
Certainly the Great Example intended 
that we should have this personal 
experience, related to His experience, 
and inspired by the same spirit ot 
lovaltv to truth and right. Let us try, 
therefore, to define loyalty: it is com- 
plete devotion to a cause, a principle, 
or a person. It manifests itself m love, 
in service, and in sacrifice. So Christ's 
loyalty to the Kingdom of God revealed 
itself "^ in an infinite love for mankind; 
rejoiced in a humble, compassionate 
service for all; and finally by the 
ultimate test of sacrifice proved its 
reality and attained its convincing 
power. Loyalty knows no other road. 
Despite its pains and perils it is a path 
of glory. Here the "lights of the world' 
have walked, prophets and patriots, 
statesmen and heroes, great-hearted 
men and women. These have led and 
fought and won in the warfare against 
darkness, gaining the victory over 
enemies because they had on that same 
highway of lovalty gained the victory 
over themselves. Obeying the Master's 



43 



The High Call 



command to take up their cross and 
follow Him, they have followed, each 
bearing his own cross, a cross which, 
perhaps, no other save the Master 
understood. Yet we who know some 
great souls can understand a little of 
their heroic lojSiltj to a cause, a prin- 
ciple, a Person. 

You may recall some man of noble 
mind and heart, filled with ambition to 
serve, yet stricken by illness he falls 
on the battlefield ere the larger contest 
has begun. Wounded, as by a chance 
shot, the shadow of a cross falls upon 
him; it is his test, and it may be his 
sublime victory. The beauty and power 
of that cross has often given a spiritual 
force vaster than any physical strength. 
It comes when in the hour of trial it 
may be said of a man that "he bearing 
his cross, went forth." 

It may be that you know a woman 
who is experiencing the bitterest humili- 
ation. The man she took "for better or 
for worse" is worse, a heartless brute. 
She shields her children, endures all 
things, and even lifts a smiling face to 
the world from which she hides a 
broken heart. Love is gone, but loyalty 
abides. 

44 



Loyalty 



There are brave children, too. Few 
things are so tragic as the disillusion of 
children concerning their parents — the 
discovery of selfishness, hypocrisy, or 
worse; and the knowledge that the 
parents of some of their friends are 
generous, genuine and good. Respect 
is gone, but when loyalty remains a 
lily may grow in the mud. 

Sometimes the test is the loss of one 
dearly loved. The world seems dark 
and empty; hope is gone. Suddenly 
the cross becomes a symbol of the 
victory over death, a promise for beloved 
and bereaved ; the gloom departs, and as 
one bears up the cross and goes forth, 
loyalty is renewed, love is deepened, serv- 
ice is widened, sacrifice is a joy. 

Some are carrying responsibilities 
that are almost crushing. Perhaps 
despite their devotion they have to 
contend with inexcusable apathy or 
hostility from those who should be help- 
ing. These have fellowship with Christ 
and with all His heroes. 

Around us on the great highway the 
test is trying men and women. They 
think they are loyal Christians; the 
Master is their hope, now and forever; 
they are sincerely devoted to a Cause 

45 



The High Call 



and a Person. Then the hour of trial 
comes. Shall I take the easier path? 
May I not take the gifts the enemy 
offers? One may buy much with thirty 
pieces of silver. Must I endure perse- 
cution for Christ's sake, should He not 
prevent it if I follow Him? And I 
grow so weary, so discouraged — should 
He not make me strong if I follow 
Him? Yes, and so He will, if you take 
up your cross, and follow uncomplain- 
ingly, bravely, on the path where loyalty 
walks to Calvary and wins. 

What if all our wealth and knowl- 
edge, our strength and influence could 
stand the test of loyalty, the test of 
the cross, the test of love, service and 
sacrifice! It is coming. Each year 
records a few more of those who catch 
the vision of the purpose of life, of their 
place in the plan, and who with heroic 
efforts or inspiring gifts show that the 
sign of the cross has consecrated them 
to the service of God and men. O my 
friends, be of that loyal company! Per- 
haps God's blessings have become our 
fetters and possess us. We cannot truly 
possess what we have until we have 
journeyed to Calvary, till the shadow 

46 



Loyalty 



of the cross rests upon us, and we go 

to serve. 

The day and the times are sounding 
another call, in which the notes of loyalty 
and sacrifice are ringing clear and 
strong. As the hour of trial conies to 
an individual so it conies to a nation, 
and the time of our national test is at 
hand. It is the old issue of darkness 
or light, tyranny or freedom, iniquity 
or iustice. Our national creed is clear, 
our national faith should be strong. 
Before us is the plain path of duty. 
Let no one doubt whether Christ calls 
us to the defence of the helpless, to the 
support of liberty and justice. Once 
He took a whip of cords and drove 
thieves and robbers from His Fathers 
house. He did not use beatitudes but a 
scourge. Had He been asked what 
should have been the duty of the Good 
Samaritan had He come upon the scene 
before the brutal robbers had finished 
their work, can you imagine His giving 
any other reply than that a good neigh- 
bor would beat off these human wolves 
and risk his life to save his brother? 

The time came when Pilate himselt 
had to choose; when neutrality was no 
longer possible, when washing the hands 



47 



The High Call 



of responsibility could not avail, when 
he had to decide for or against the 
innocent. His choice is historic. It 
has no conscious defenders, but many 
are unconsciously advocating Pilate's 
method. Had Pilate been a just man, 
disposed to defend his prisoner with his 
power and his life, no one can doubt 
Christ's approval of such a course. One 
must pity those who cannot hear the 
Master commanding us to defend human 
life and human freedom at any cost, 
but one must not permit the objectors 
to delay those who are commanded to 
hasten on the road of loyalty. We can- 
not know what is before us, we need 
onh^ to know the duty of the hour and 
to do it. The nearer to Calvary the 
nation is permitted to journey, the more 
glorious the rebirth of its soul. There 
is more reason to fear that our share 
may not cost enough to bring the 
blessing we sorely need. 

If we give to France a billion of 
dollars at once, we shall not yet have 
paid our money debt to her. If we grant 
as large a credit as possible to the 
Allies, we shall still occupy the last 
place among civilized nations. The hour 
of our test is at hand, let our vision be 

48 



Loyalty 



clear, let us be found on tlie path of 
loyalty, upholding the symbol of sacri- 
fice, and pressing toward a strategic 
bill-top where victories are won. 

Recently I read these words in a book 
written many years ago: "The life of 
the individual, within its limits, is apt 
to present a sort of microcosmic image 
of the life of the nation. There comes a 
period of stress, when the germs of 
change and growth are sown. Then 
apparently, without reason, time drags. 
The seasons roll apathetically in their 
rut, and all is done as it was done last 
year. But in the deeps great impulses 
are maturing, the great forces are 
gathering. The hour comes that looses 
them. Then, in an instant, it seems 
almost without warning, the quiet heart 
is in an insurrection, the people of 
ploughshares is become a people of 
swords. With a life or with a nation 
the events of a day may crowd ten 
volumes, or the annals of ten years leave 
a page but meanly filled. Significance 
is all. We live in our great moments. 
The rest is making ready."* 

In the great moments now calling 
us may we greatly live! On the sur- 

*From "Barbara Ladd," by Charles G. D. RoberU. 



49 



The High Call 



face of life we sliall be arming witli 
physical weapons, but in tbe depths of 
life where souls win or lose, the only 
victorious weapon is a cross. As we 
face the tests to-day, the trials of 
manhood and womanhood tempted by 
ease or money, by selfishness or fear, 
by the vice that weakens or the shame 
that destroys, let us resolve that the 
power of the cross shall be felt in 
the innermost recesses of our hearts, 
that sacrifice for principle shall cleanse 
and inspire us. ^*He bearing his cross, 
went forth;" let that be the result of 
our test to-day. Then, at no distant 
time, America will be found faithful to 
her high ideal, bearing her cross, cost 
what it will. She will stand in the 
noble company of those whose millions 
of heroes are loving, serving, dying, that 
human justice and happiness may live 
on this earth. To such a cause let young 
and old consecrate themselves quickly. 
The young knighthood, and the older 
should be kneeling at this hour praying 
for the touch that cleanses and inspires. 
One instinctively recalls some lines of 
Alfred Noyes, "The Old Knight's Vigil" : 
Once in this chapel Lord 
Young and undaunted, 

50 



Loyalty 



Over my virgin sword 

LigMly I chanted, 
"Dawn ends my watch, I go 
Shining, to meet the foe." 

"Swift with Thy dawn," I said, 
"Set the lists ringing! 

Soon shall Thy foe be sped 
And the world singing! 

Bless my bright plume for me, 

Christ, King of Chivalry!" 

War-worn I kneel to-night, 

Lord by Thine altar! 
Oh! in to-morrow's fight 

Let me not falter! 
Bless my dark arms for me 
Christ, King of Chivalry! 

Keep Thou my broken sword 
All the long night through. 

While I keep watch and ward ! 
Then — the red fight through. 

Bless the wrenched haft for me, 

Christ, King of Chivalry! 

Take in Thy Pierced hands. 
Still, the bruised helmet; 

Let not their hostile bands 
Wholly o'erwhelm it! 

Bless my poor shield for me, 

Christ, King of Chivalry! 

61 



The High Call 



Keep Thou the sullied mail, 

Lord, that I tender 
Here, at Thine altar-rail, 

Then — let Thy splendor 
Touch it once . . . and I go 
Stainless to meet the foe. 

God grant to each of us the divine 
touch that cleanses and inspires, that 
speeds us in the path of duty, that 
makes loyalty a glory and sacrifice an 
honor. The last touch of the finger of 
God in the making of a man! 



52 



Utrtnrg: Apparent nr S^al 

(April 1, 1917) 

"If thou hadst known in this thy day the things which 

BELONG unto THY PEACE !"-—ST, LUKB Xix : 42. 

To A PERSON standing on the slope 
of tlie Mount of Olives the city of 
Jerusalem must have presented, on 
the first Palm Sunday, a perfect picture 
of prosperity and peace. Over on Mount 
Zion the Temple lifted its pinnacles to 
heaven; nearer, the palace of Herod 
and the regal residence of the Roman 
governor, Pontius Pilate, were rising 
proudly in the bright sunshine. The 
rule of Rome seemed efficient in things 
temporal, and the power of the priests 
appeared to be potent in spiritual 
affairs. Beneath the surface, however, 
bitterness and misery held sway. The 
Roman scorned the Hebrew ; the Hebrew 
hated the Roman; and the humbler 
folk were crushed between the rulers of 
both races. 

To-day was a day of rejoicing for the 
common people, but of anxiety for the 
priests. It had been reported that the 
Teacher who taught as man never 
taught before, who healed the lepers 
and gave sight to the blind, who raised 

53 



The High Call 



from the dead Lazarus of Bethany, was 
coining to-day to Jerusalem. Multitudes 
went out to meet Him, and as they saw 
Him sitting upon the white ass, the 
beast of royalty, they recalled the words 
of their prophet Zechariah, "Jerusalem, 
behold thy King cometh unto thee, 
sitting upon an ass." Connecting this 
with His teaching. His deeds of mercy, 
His raising of Lazarus, they hail Him 
as King, waving palm branches before 
Him and making the mountain-side ring 
with their hosannas. 

Apparently, it was a great triumph. 
The Master's disciples rejoiced. His 
enemies were dismayed and declared, 
"Behold the world is gone after Him," 
but the Master seems unmoved by the 
strong expressions of praise or blame 
or joy. He looks down upon the city with 
an intense grief and longing in His 
face. He is speaking to the city as to a 
person, and as though only they two 
could hear. His arms are outstretched, 
tears fall from His eyes and He cries, 
"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that 
killest the prophets and stonest them 
that are sent unto thee. ... If thou 
hadst known in this thy day the things 
which belong unto thy peace!" Here is 

54 



Victory 



a strange King, indeed. The applause 
of tlie multitude He seems not to hear, 
but His eyes are reading human hearts, 
and His love is seeking to save those 
who are preparing to kill Him. Down 
into the city and into the Temple He 
goes and teaches there. It was the day 
of Christ's greatest popularity, a day of 
apparent victory, but the look in His 
eyes warns us against such a judgment, 
tells us the triumph is brief and with- 
out value. 

Later in the week we understand. 
On Friday that same fickle multitude is 
crying for His blood. And when Friday's 
smi had set the Master's disciples had 
fled in terror, His enemies had prevailed, 
and over His cross they wrote "Failure." 
The word seemed justified; apparently 
the Master's cause had experienced a 
crushing defeat. It was not defeat or 
we should not be here to-day. It was 
not failure, for the cross was trans- 
formed from a symbol of death to a 
symbol of life through sacrifice. It 
shines from towers and spires in all the 
cities of the world, and in the darkest 
corners of the earth it bears its witness 
to Him who is the Light of the world, and 
the Desire of all nations. 

55 



The High Call 



The apparent triumpli of Palm Sun- 
day was without value; the apparent 
defeat of Good Friday was the beginning 
of the world's greatest victory. That we 
may better understand how such mis- 
takes in judgment could be made let us 
try to fathom the meaning of our Lord's 
words to the city, "If thou hadst known 
in this thy day the things which belong 
unto thy peace!" What are the things 
upon which the true freedom, the peace 
of a nation depends? Let me suggest 
three fundamentals — Eeligion, Character 
and Patriotism. 

Our Lord constantly reminded Jerusa- 
lem of the formality and hypocrisy of 
its religion. The parable of the Good 
Samaritan showed the priest and Levite 
passing by "on the other side"; the con- 
demnation of the barren fig-tree revealed 
the green leaves of large profession and 
the utter absence of fruit. God had 
become a pious abstraction, and the 
neighbor was exploited or neglected. 
The Master taught, persuaded, warned, 
their only answer was a plot to murder 
Him. This is not strange when you see 
that they had already in their hearts 
rejected God. 

66 



Victory 



Nothing is more certain than the vital 
connection between religion and charac- 
ter. Earely are you influenced by 
nobility of character which is not 
explained by a living faith in God. 
When a man's idea of God becomes vague 
and weak his character soon betrays 
those unhappy defects. So it was with 
the people of Jerusalem, lacking the 
inspiration for the development of the 
soul they became materialists. Once 
when the Master healed a lunatic and 
permitted a herd of swine, raised in 
defiance of the law of Moses, to rush 
down a steep place into the sea, the 
owners "besought Him to depart out of 
their coasts." The fact that their neigh- 
bor was restored, that daily many were 
healed and blessed was as nothing in 
comparison with the loss of their hogs. 
They had their systems, their methods, 
their rights, and this Disturber had 
seriously interfered. The agents whom 
they sent to entrap Him, or to swear 
falsely against Him, returned declar- 
ing, "Never man spake as this man." 
Whereupon they are commanded not 
to listen to the Prophet, but to kill Him. 

Where religion and character fail we 
do not expect to find patriotism. Jerusa- 

57 



The High Call 



lem on that first Palm Sunday lacked 
all these. There had been a time when 
the nation believed that God had chosen 
her to stand for His ideals of justice, 
mercy and humanity; the people had 
been conscious of a divine mission ; a long 
line of heroes from Joshua to the great 
Maccabeus, who had died only a little 
more than a century before, had kept 
alive the flame of patriotism. Xow they 
publicly accept the rule of Pilate and 
Herod, while privately they mutter 
futile curses. The Pharisees tell Pilate 
the Master is opposed to paying tribute 
to Caesar, and they tell the people that 
He favors paying tribute to Caesar. The 
people hated the Eomans but envied 
them, and imitated their fashions and 
customs. They were without convictions, 
without honesty, without patriotism. 
These are necessary to peace. God has 
so created us that without the essentials 
of religion and character the mind and 
heart of man cannot know peace, his 
home lacks peace, his life is unhappy, he 
fails his God, his neighbor, and his 
country. If the citizens generally are 
of such a quality not only is the life of 
religion and of morality in danger, but 

58 



Victory 



the political peace of the country is 
imperiled. 

Therefore, as the Master looked upon 
the shining city mth its appearance of 
prosperity and peace, its palaces and 
Temples seem to crumble into ruins 
before the eyes which tested their founda- 
tions. They would not have Him for 
their Lord: they prefer Caesar, and 
before long Csesar will grind them 
beneath his heel, and send Titus to lay 
waste their city and leave not one stone 
of their Temple standing upon another. 
It is no wonder that He grieved for that 
city, as a parent grieves for a beloved 
but wilful child, knowing that if he 
refuses the things which belong unto his 
peace naught but the severest disciplines 
of life can bring him to see their value. 

Our Lord's teaching is universal 
because He dealt with the eternal essen- 
tials. It seems but a short step from 
the first to the twentieth century, from 
the Master's outlook upon Jerusalem on 
that first Palm Sunday to His outlook 
upon this city and the world to-day. Let 
us follow His eyes as they behold and 
test His people. We believe and hope 
he is witnessing the last tragic conflict 

59 



The High Call 



in behalf of the things which belong to 
the peace of His children. He sees in the 
home of modern atheism the deification 
of human might, the ruthless attack of 
selfish ambition, the crucifixion of 
humanity. He sees other nations becom- 
ing more conscious of the value of God, 
of the neighbor, and of humanity. He 
sees the unessential flung aside, whether 
pleasures, palaces or thrones. He sees 
increasing agreement concerning the 
essentials of human freedom, the things 
that belong to peace, and that the 
nations thus agreeing are entering a 
great brotherhood for the protection of 
mankind. 

Whsit does He behold as He looks 
upon this city and this land? Let us 
first realize His disappointment. True, 
we have not been devoid of religion, char- 
acter and patriotism, but neither have 
we obeyed their inspirations or their 
warnings with a whole heart. Each has 
teen so occupied with his own selfish 
affairs that he has given little time to 
helping God to make this a great nation. 
Our many millions of alien citizens have 
been taught little that is essential; our 
public schools are doing little to develop 
reverence or character; the children of 

60 



Victory 



the rich receive small attention from 
the parents who will leave great wealth 
and social power to children not trained 
to use these properly. Capital and 
Labor must use intelligence and charac- 
ter enough to agree upon the things 
essential to peace. The way to justice, 
mercy and happiness can be found, and 
until w^e find it how hollow are our super- 
ficial triumphs, our apparent prosperity ! 
It needs no prophet to tell us that if we 
do not face the great human problems 
of our city and nation and solve them 
unselfishly and righteously, there can be 
no real or enduring peace in our hearts, 
in our homes, or in our land. Universal 
Military Training may help, with its 
enforced sacrifices, democratic associa- 
tions, and patriotic teachings. It should 
become law immediately, and it will help 
our national character, but we need 
much more. We do not begin until we 
begin with God, and upon the Christians 
of America rests the responsibility for 
teaching and living a religion so vital 
that it will inspire character and patriot- 
ism. Until we do, the sadness will remain 
in the Eyes that look so longingly upon us. 
But the Master's feeling is not all 
disappointment as He beholds us to-day. 

61 



The High Call 



We are awakening to the essentials of 
peace for tlie world, for kumanity, for 
our own character. Recently I saw a 
picture which showed huge piles of 
gold surmounted by the American flag 
flapping idly, and, beneath, the title, 
"Where wealth accumulates and men 
decay." Where wealth accumulates there 
is apparent victory, but if manhood 
decays it is tragic defeat. Are we pre- 
paring to transform our apparent vic- 
tories into real ones? Shall we give our 
money and ourselves that the things of 
peace — ^justice, freedom, and humanity — 
may not merely live but have a new birth 
of beauty and power? We seem to be con- 
secrating ourselves to this divine purpose. 
God grant that we may fulfil it ! 

To-morrow the national congress will 
meet. May the President's message and 
its reception be worthy of the best tradi- 
tions of the republic ; may all things be so 
ordered and settled by their endeavors, 
upon the best and surest foundations, 
that peace and happiness, truth and 
justice, religion and piety may be more 
firmly established in the world. 

As for ourselves, we kneel to-day at the 
altar and with a nobler definiteness we 
answer our Master's look and say, "Here 

62 



Victory 



we offer and present unto Thee, O Lord, 
ourselves, our souls and bodies, to be a 
reasonable, holy and living sacrifice unto 
Thee!" That will be the beginning of a 
real victory and will give meaning to these 
waving palms. 

When the Master came to Jerusalem 
that first Holy Week the city had to 
choose, had to decide for or against Him. 
To-day let Him find this country uniting 
for God and humanity, for the true peace 
of the world and the nation, the peace of 
the home and the peace of the loyal heart. 
Let Him see us rising above the tempta- 
tions of increasing wealth, and renewing 
our manhood, as we gird ourselves for 
life's noblest efforts. 

We can do much to make our welcome 
of Him a real triumph. Let us do it now, 
and our souls will find a deeper peace, and 
a courage to win life's greatest victories. 



63 



©Ij^ (greater (Slnrg 

(April 8, 1917) 

"THE SUFFERINGS OF THIS PRESENT TIME ARE NOT WORTHY TO 
BE COMPARED WITH THE GLORY WHICH SHALL BE REVEALED IN 

VS." — Romans viii : 18. 

HOWEVER long we may live we 
shall look back to this Easter as 
unique. Among the celebrations 
of this high festival to-day will stand out 
with a character and a distinction of its 
own. It is difficult to understand a great 
day while we are living it, but it is worth 
while to try, in the hope that we may live 
it better. 

The Easter joy is here, but with a differ- 
ence; it is deeper, more thoughtful. 
The Easter faith is here, with the 
calm certainty which almost feels "the 
touch of the vanished hand," and 
hears the sound of the voice beloved ; the 
faith which assures us of the survival and 
progress of personality, and that after 
the school-days here God needs us for the 
further completion of His plans, which, 
since they are worthy of God, stretch on 
into the limitless future. But the Easter 
faith to-day lives but a grateful moment 
in contemplation of the dear ones safe at 
Home, but a moment in meditation upon 

65 



The High Call 



the larger life wliere we shall have a 
chance to be onr best. For God's plans 
are unfolding before our eyes, and His 
call summons us to the service of mercy 
and truth, of righteousness and honest 
peace. To-day our Easter faith goes into 
action. 

High ideals are not of modern birth. 
The ancient prophets declared them with 
rare eloquence to people who would not 
listen. Later Socrates and Plato pleaded 
with a sweet reasonableness for the truth 
intensely dear to them. Socrates they 
condemned to death for being ahead of 
his time, and Plato declared ^^The dark 
tide of human passion would never 
be controlled and rolled back in this 
world except by the love of a divine per- 
son." There was idealism before Chris- 
tianity, but the honest student of history 
and philosophy knows well that Christ 
gave to idealism its inspiration and 
power. St. Paul said of the Master, "He 
hath brought life and immortality to 
light" ; men knew something of the essen- 
tials of noble living before Christ, they 
believed in the immortality of the human 
soul, but it remained for the Master so to 
reveal the purpose of life and its continu- 
ance that it seemed to mankind as though, 

66 



The Greater Glory 



for the first time, by Him life and immor- 
tality were placed in a light which 
showed their attractive power. 

It is appropriate to pause for a 
moment and confess or insist that it 
was the Easter fact, the Eesurrection, 
which gave our Lord's teaching its divine 
appeal, and which gave for human ideal- 
ism the only substantial basis it pos- 
sesses. Had the apparent defeat of Good 
Friday been a real defeat, had the teach- 
ing and life and love of our Lord been 
conquered by the powers of darkness, 
what basis would exist for the hope 
that the Light would ever be victorious, 
or that you or I could succeed where He 
failed? The fact we celebrate to-day is 
the sole basis, as it is the highest inspira- 
tion, of the world's ideals. 

Our national ideals are very close to 
us at present. We understand better 
what Jefferson meant when he wrote in 
the great Declaration ^'life, liberty, and 
the pursuit of happiness." It often hap- 
pens that our most valuable privileges 
are not appreciated until someone 
threatens to take them away. So the 
world is aroused, and America is awaken- 
ing. Mankind values to-day the right to 
live, the right to be free, and the right to 

67 



The High Call 



be reasonably bappy, because mankind 
is compelled to figbt for tbese rigbts as 
never before in buman bistory. 

Anotber ideal wbicb bas slowly but 
certainly developed is tbat war is an out- 
grown barbarism; tbe resort to brute 
force is an insult to buman reason. Tbat 
is also an ideal for wbicb civilization 
contends to-day, using tbe only weapons 
wbicb can compel tbe cbampion of physi- 
cal force to submit to tbe rule of reason 
and justice. If tbe present war is not 
tbe final great pbysical conflict, yet it will 
do more tban all otber agencies combined 
to basten a federation of tbe nations of 
the eartb and make life, liberty and hap- 
piness tbe realized rigbts and privileges 
of all. 

For many reasons our country bas 
observed the desperate struggle with 
increasing sympathy and anxiety. With 
s^Tnpathy because the blood of all the 
great nations flows in our veins, and 
millions are drawn this way or that by 
the call of the blood ; we sympathize with 
the countless hosts of brave men who 
have suffered agonies unknown in any 
previous conflict, but we sympathize even 
more with the woes of non-combatants, 
of innocent women and children, who 

68 



The Greater Glory 



after experiencing unspeakable horrors 
were face to face with starvation. Our 
anxiety has reached a deeper point than 
our sympathy, for, after all, our sym- 
pathy was evoked by that which is 
transient, however frightful ; our anxiety 
was occasioned by the mightiest attack 
ever launched against the necessary 
foundations of human life and liberty. 

It is not strange that America did not 
quickly determine her duty. Individ- 
ually, it was difficult for us at the first 
to be of the same mind for two successive 
days. We hate war ; we love peace. We 
hate the weapons of destruction; we 
love justice and mercy. True, we knew 
the Entente allies were fighting our 
battle, the battle of all civilization, but 
we could not bring ourselves to the point 
of decision until we were sure that the 
God of Justice and Mercy called us to 
the defense of humanity. That this call 
has come, the President makes convinc- 
ingly clear in a message fully adequate to 
the needs of one of the most critical 
hours in all time. 

It seems something more than coinci- 
dence that our national recognition of 
Germany's warfare against us, and the 
expression of our readiness to meet it 

69 



The High Call 



and make any necessary sacrifice for 
human justice and freedom should be 
given on the day when our churches 
were thronged with those who com- 
memorated the Sacrifice of Him who was 
faithful unto death in His witness for 
Truth. "The Power that makes for 
righteousness" leads a mighty host 
to-day, not for offense but for defense, 
not in hatred of people but in hatred of 
vicious principles. Just as our life and 
property, our peace and happiness, are 
largely dependent on the effective admin- 
istration of justice, upon the courts and 
the police, even upon the readiness of 
our protectors to die that we may live, 
so the life and liberty of mankind are 
calling to us through God to-day for 
defence and protection. 

"He has sounded forth the trumpet that 
shall never call retreat; 
He is sifting out the hearts of men 

before His judgment-seat; 
Oh, be swift, my soul, to answer Him. 
be jubilant my feet ! 
Our God is marching on." 

The most inspiring pages of history 
are those which record sublime sacri- 

70 



The Greater Glory 



fice for high principles, and which 
reveal the spiritual growth and the 
higher level of civilization which invari- 
ably followed. Many of us have been 
assured from the beginning that vast 
spiritual gains would soon be discerned 
rising above all the blood and tears. 
Belgium's sacrifice is not in vain even 
for Belgium. Her sacrifice for honor 
has brought a crown of heroism and 
glory which will be the inspiration of a 
greater Belgium than we have ever 
known. France has lost her blood, but 
foimd her soul; and all her past glories, 
great as they were, are eclipsed by the 
spiritual radiance with which she shines 
to-day. England, after a period of 
weakness and decay, is herself again — 
sound at heart, resolute in spirit, worthy 
once more of her high place. Kussia is 
free, but in a world where men are still 
compelled to defend freedom with their 
lives. I refuse to believe that Germany 
and Austria alone have learned nothing. 
If their answer to the divine call be 
delayed, by whatsoever restraint, the 
reply when it comes will be the more 
emphatic. 

Among the defenders of human liberty 
the gains are as obvious as the losses, 

71 



The High Call 



and the gains are lasting while the 
losses are but for a day. They have 
had the experience of all the brave who 
answered the call of dut}^, to find that 
the permanent gains and the lasting 
glory outweighed all the cost, all the 
suffering. When St. Paul wrote, "The 
sufferings of this present time are not 
worthy to be compared with the glory 
which shall be revealed in us," he was 
expressing what most brave men have 
believed for at least nineteen centuries. 
Of course, St. Paul was not limiting 
the glory to a man's earthly life, or to 
the highways of this world where heroic 
service is rendered. He looked on to 
the greater Country where all nations 
serve a King of truth and justice, of love 
and mercy. He saw the noble company 
of the faithful unto death; he heard the 
welcome of the new heroes who had died 
that men might live, and he valued that 
welcome above all the cost of loyalty. 
This Easter Day tells us that not only 
is earth glorified by man's defense of 
man, but heaven itself is richer for the 
presence of a vast multitude of heroes 
who are now soldiers of Christ, indeed, 
and helping more than ever, perhaps, the 
coming of the victory for a free and 

72 



The Greater Glory 



just mankind. As our country knelt on 
Good Friday to consecrate herself for 
any sacrifice to make this world safe 
for God's children, so let us see on Easter 
Sunday that heroic sacrifice means 
nobler life on earth, and the attainment 
of the greater glory, the final victory, 
when the brave cross the border into the 
greater Country. It is an ideal time for 
clear vision, for deep consecration, for 
courageous advance. 

Our people are answering the call — 
men and women, young and old, rich and 
poor, all are asking the chance to serve, 
to do their "bit." During the last two 
days the recruiting stations have been 
overwhelmed with thousands of college- 
men seeking enlistment. The govern- 
ment has urged them to continue their 
military training in their regimental 
formations at college for the present, with 
the promise that they will be given 
their chance as soon as they are needed. 
This comes close to some of us, but we 
are very proud of them. Their quick 
response recalls the large number of 
English university men in Kitchener's 
First Hundred Thousand, and some lines 
written by a traveller who saw Oxford 

78 



The High Call 



from the railway-train in the early 
period of the war : 

"I saw the spires of Oxford 

As I was passing by; 

The gray spires of Oxford 

Against a pearl-gray sky. 
My heart was with the Oxford men 
Who went abroad to die. 

"The years go fast in Oxford, 
The golden years and gay; 

The hoary colleges look down 
On careless boys at play. 

But when the bugles sounded war 
They put their games away. 

"They left the peaceful river, 
The cricket field, the quad, 

The shaven lawns of Oxford, 
To seek a bloody sod. 

They gave their merry youth away 
For country and for God. 

"God rest you, happy gentlemen. 
Who laid your good lives down. 
Who took the khaki and the gun 

Instead of cap and gown! 
God bring you to a fairer place 
Than even Oxford town!" 

74 



The Greater Glory 



God bring us all to that fairer place! 
On the Resurrection day we pray for the 
resurrection of this nation, for a real life 
in each of us, that American character 
may be at its best in the supreme test 
before us ; that we may be worthy of the 
sacrifice of our fathers, worthy of the 
countless blessings of God, worthy of 
the greater glory of the welcome of our 
Captain at the last, and His approving 
^'Well done!" 



75 



(April 15, 1917) 

-Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of 
Christ." — Galatians vi : 2. 

THE American people are breathing 
a sigh of profound and grateful 
relief. A series of just, self-respect- 
ing, statesmanlike utterances on the part 
of the President and Congress have 
finally placed us definitely on the side of 
free government in its fight for life 
against the attacks of prepared and 
unscrupulous autocracy. Our relief is 
increased by the joy Avith which we are 
welcomed to the field of high honor by the 
brave defenders of human freedom. We 
are further comforted by the plan to 
invest at once in the contest our material 
wealth in an amount never before 
dreamed of as an initial or single ex- 
penditure. We are also proposing other 
wise and essential measures, among 
them the plan for Universal Military 
Service. 

The steps so far taken justify a meas- 
ure of returning self-respect; they do not 
justify confidence. Our proposed cam- 
paign is large in scope, noble in spirit, 

77 



The High Call 



worthy of a cause in wMch civilization is 
at stake. But the campaign is largely on 
paper, and a most essential part of it on 
paper which has not yet become law. We 
have professed nobly; we should quickly 
translate our words into deeds. Some- 
one significantly said of the fifth book of 
the New Testament that the Acts of the 
Apostles had come down to us, but not 
their resolutions. 

The warning of St. Paul seems to bring 
a timely message to us, "Bear ye one 
another's burdens, and so fulfil the law 
of Christ." It reminds us that our 
brethren across the sea are bearing 
crushing burdens in a struggle upon 
which depends not only life for them, but 
the only kind of life worth living for all 
mankind. It reminds us that our Cana- 
dian brothers, to whom we are related 
by many close ties, have, from the begin- 
ning, and gloriously in recent days, 
borne a heroic part. It reminds us that 
in every essential our brothers' cause is 
now very literally our own. It further 
reminds us that the law of Christ is, 
"whatsoever ye would that men should 
do to you, do ye even so to them," and 
that the help we would ask in our extrem- 
ity we must give in their extremity, and 

78 



Words and Deeds 



give doubly and quickly to those who 
have with their burdens borne ours also. 
St. Paul seems to emphasize for us the 
Avord ^fulfil'; as though the bearing of 
heavy burdens demanded not only gener- 
ous promises, but their prompt and com- 
plete fulfilment. 

No thoughtful and honorable person 
can doubt that it is our duty to bring 
speedily the weight of our manhood to 
bear in this war, which is now revealed 
as one of the holiest causes in which man 
could engage. But the weight of our 
manhood cannot be assembled, trained, 
and concentrated by the so-called volun- 
teer system, much misunderstood, never 
successful, and now completely and 
scientifically discredited. Surely it is 
possible for the Christian patriots of this 
land so to recognize the sacredness of 
this call to arms, so to demand the 
worthy part that America should have in 
a world-struggle for the defense of her 
own foundations, that nothing less than 
the consecration of the whole nation, men 
and women, shall seem adequate for an 
answer to a divine command. Let us not 
be frightened by words. Conscription, to 
superficial thinkers, sounds like autoc- 
racy; it need suggest nothing of the sort 

79 



The High Call 



in a land where the people vote them- 
selves and their money into a war. If 
they trust their government, and evi- 
dently they do, let them say to the gov- 
ernment, "We are all ready, men and 
women, high and low, learned and igno- 
rant, capital and labor. Come and assign 
us to tasks as you will, as you judge us 
fitted, and each in his or her duty will 
strive for humanity and America." That 
would be conscription, but it doesn't 
sound like it, does it? 

While Congress is debating a provision 
for Universal Military Service the Chris- 
tian citizen may well be forming his con- 
victions in the house of God, even upon 
his knees, and pledge his best endeavors 
to influence Congress to a right decision. 
With such a hope and such a prayer I ask 
you to consider what may be said with 
justice concerning Universal Military 
Training for the manhood of America. 
Nearly all that is said could apply even 
if we had not definitely entered a great 
war, but it applies with tenfold greater 
force under present conditions, and it is 
largely to these conditions that we shall 
devote our argument. 

The universal system is the only safe 
method. All resources must be at the 

80 



Words and Deeds 



country's service. Our military and 
naval experts must determine the 
quantity and quality needed for specific 
purposes. No impulsive, haphazard plan 
is safe. In the volunteer plan neither the 
country nor the volunteer is secure. The 
man who courageously enlists does not 
know whether others will follow. Wise 
and brave officers do not know whether 
they will have men in sufficient numbers 
and with sufficieut training to make vic- 
tory possible. Let the law take it for 
granted that all are ready to defend their 
country, their principles and humanity; 
let it empower our military and naval 
leaders to tap upon the shoulder of any 
needed American and thus confer a 
knighthood as noble as any ever bestowed 
by King or Emperor. No other method 
is safe for the man, the country, or the 
cause. 

No other method is honest. We must 
not ask the unselfish to die that the 
selfish may live and flourish. We must 
not allow a man to serve on the firing-line 
if some special skill makes him a hun- 
dredfold more useful in some other 
place. Honor may make him enlist, but 
experts should determine where each 
may serve best. Universal enlistment is 

81 



The High Call 



the only honest, fair, economic method. 

It is also the only democratic method. 
The country calling to each and all with 
the same voice, brings all together in a 
comradeship which holds high possibili- 
ties for mutual understanding and in- 
creased respect. East and West, North and 
South, serving side by side, shoulder to 
shoulder, will soon know each other mind 
to mind and heart to heart. Nothing else 
promises so much for the giving of sim- 
plicity to the rich, dignity to the poor, 
tenderness to the strong, courage to the 
weak, and character to all. In no other 
way can the American republic be se- 
cured upon the strongest foundations for 
the years to come. Those who have fol- 
lowed the flag in the ranks will have a 
deeper respect for the flag and all that it 
means, and will take into every walk of 
life, into every corner of this land, an 
intelligent national ideal, and a sense of 
national unity. 

The universal system is further to be 
commended as the only successful sys- 
tem. True, our most dignified afternoon 
paper, with which few of us lately have 
been able to agree, recently declared 
that conscription "whether necessary or 
unnecessary, has never before been 

82 



Words and Deeds 



attempted in this country at tlie out- 
break of war." But it is also true that 
in every great war we have learned our 
mistakes later, after enormous sacrifice 
of life. And it is true that every democ- 
racy battling for freedom to-day has dis- 
covered by vital experience that universal 
service is essential to success. The Eng- 
lish premier has expressed the hope that 
we may profit by England's tragic blun- 
ders. Let us hope so, and let us do so. 
In the preface of Major-General Up- 
ton's masterly book on "The Military 
Policy of the United States" I find a par- 
agraph pertinent to our subject, with a 
message for the city of Washington: 

"In time of war the civilian as much as 
the soldier is responsible for defeat and 
disaster. Battles are not lost alone on 
the field; they may be lost beneath the 
dome of the Capitol, they may be lost in 
the Cabinet, or they may be lost in the 
private office of the Secretary of War. 
TV^erever they are lost, it is the people 
who suffer and the soldiers who die, with 
the knowledge and the conviction that 
our military policy is a crime against life, 
a crime against property, and a crime 
against liberty." 

83 



The High Call 



There is but one method of enlistment 

which is safe, honest, fair, intelligent, 

democratic and successful. Even if put 

into immediate operation it will be many 
months before any considerable part of 
our greater army can be prepared for 
service. If, when that day of preparation 
arrives, we discover we do not, after all, 
need it for the battle-field, we may thank 
God that righteous peace has come, and 
that our trained men are better men, and 
are a future defense for the nation. But 
if they should be needed, the need will be 
desperate, and we mil thank God that 
we all answered the call and prepared. 
With all my heart I approve the reply a 
friend of mine made some time ago to a 
pacifist, — he said, "I will gladly join you 
in praying for peace, if you will join me 
in preparing for war ; then whatever hap- 
pens we will be ready." 

Our fathers, from Washington down, 
have warned us to be prepared, have 
favored universal military training. Our 
proposal to-day is no novelty, it is a sug- 
gested return to a system which won our 
liberty and developed our character. 
There have always been objectors, but we 
have never lacked patriots ready to con- 

84 



Words and Deeds 



tend for the adequate defense of liberty. 
You remember Lowell's description of 
sueb men : 

^^Bravely to do whatever the time de- 
mands, 

TVhether with pen or sword, and not to 
flinch, 

This is the task that fits heroic hands ; 

So are Truth's boundaries widened inch 
by inch. 

I do not love the Peace which tyrants 
make; 

The calm she breeds let swords' light- 
ning break ! 

It is the tyrants who have beaten out 

Plowshares and pruning hooks to spears 
and swords, 

And shall I pause and moralize and 
doubt? 

Whose veins run water let him mete his 
words ! 

In "The Pilgrim's Progress" you re- 
member that one day Christian came 
upon three men who were in great peril, 
but were unconscious of it. He warned 
them earnestly. "With that," said the 
author, "they looked upon him, and 
began to reply in this sort : Simple said, 
/ see no danger; Sloth said. Yet a little 

85 



The High Gall 



more sleep; and Presumption said, Every 
vat must stand upon his otvn bottom. 
And so they lay down to sleep again, and 
Christian went on his way." It would not 
be difficult to give well-known modern 
names to Simple, Sloth and Presumption, 
but we will press on with Christian in the 
way of honor and safety. And what is 
that way? It is not possible to find any 
other than that of national service, in 
which the whole people offer themselves 
and demand through their representa- 
tives that the government shall call them 
when needed, for any service they may be 
able to perform. Surely the power of 
a larger patriotism is already apparent. 
Surely we are ready to rise with the 
bravest of any nation, and for America 
and her honor, in the greatest cause 
which ever appealed to a world, cry again 
with our Lowell : 

"O beautiful, my country ! . . . 

What words divine of lover or of poet 

Could tell our love and make thee know 
it, 

Among the nations bright beyond com- 
pare! 

T\niat were our lives without thee? 

What all our lives to save thee? 

86 



Words and Deeds 



We reck not what we gave thee ; 
We will not dare to doubt thee ; 
But ask whatever else, and we will 
dare!" 

Let that be our answer to the need of 
the hour. Let that be our urgent request 
of Congress, that the nation be con- 
scripted, enlisted, consecrated, call it 
what they will, for the honor and safety 
of America, for the bearing of freedom's 
burdens, for the fulfilment of the law of 
Christ. God grant that Congress may 
quickly take that wise and just action! 
What a message of cheer it will carry to 
the heroes who are beating tyranny back 
to its lair ! Through hundreds of miles of 
sodden, shot-swept trenches the cheers 
would ring, — "America has enlisted as a 
nation, she springs upon the field not 
with a few, but with all her mighty 
strength." Think of the effect of this in 
the citadel of autocracy; nothing else 
could so quickly convince it of utter 
defeat ! 

Our course is clear. By the warnings of 
our fathers, by the uniform and costly 
experience of every democracy, by the 
need of our manhood and womanhood to 
renew our souls in a purifying service, by 

87 



The High Call 



the call of God in persecuted humanity ; j 

let us demand a law which will call upon | 

all for whatever we can do, for God, for j 

country, and for mankind! | 



88 



Prarttral f alnnttem 

(April 22, 1917) 

"Shall your brbO'heen go to schb war, and shall ye sit 

HERE?" NXTMBERS XXXli : 6. 

THE people of God on their journey 
from Egypt to Canaan, from 
bondage to freedom, passed through 
a rich and fertile land "on this side of 
Jordan." Two of the twelve tribes 
desired to remain and make their homes 
in this peaceful, prosperous region. 
Across the river lay the promised land, 
where the development of the nation 
would come, yet where enemies waited 
to destroy them. But the cause of the 
nation was the cause of God, who "in 
the fulness of time" would send the 
Light of the World to shine out of that 
place and people. Now, the solidarity 
of the nation was essential if enemies 
were to be conquered and the divine pur- 
pose fulfilled. Therefore Moses the 
leader asked the members of the two 
tribes, "Shall your brethren go to the 
war, and shall ye sit here?" Such an 
appeal could not fail. They marched 
together, and together they conquered. 
Every student of the Great War, every 
lover of mankind, is conscious of the 

89 



The High Call 



world's increasing realization that this 
gigantic struggle is more spiritual than 
physical. They who began it, those 
blind ones who will not see, will yet 
recover their sight, will come to their 
better selves, and reveal the whole truth. 
Not that the rest of the world does not 
know; never was a great issue so unmis- 
takably clear. But the explanation will 
be found not so much in the realm of 
politics, or even of morals, as in the 
domain of the spirit. Goethe's kins- 
men had for a generation been pupils 
of Goethe's subtle, seductive Mephis- 
topheles. The test was inevitable; the 
issue is not in doubt ; the spiritual mean- 
ing of it is slowly revealing itself to all 
the world. 

Two days ago Bishop Brent preached 
in St. Paul's Cathedral, London, before 
the King and Queen and all the high 
dignitaries of the realm, in celebra- 
tion of "American Day," celebrating 
our alliance with the defenders of 
freedom. Let me repeat to you the 
bishop's text: "He determined before 
the king's host should enter and get the 
city, to go forth and try the matter in 
fight by the help of the Lord. So when 
he had committed all to the Creator 

90 



Practical Patriotism 



of the world, and exhorted his soldiers 
to fight manfully, even unto death, for 
the laws, the temple, the city, the coun- 
try, and the commonwealth, he pitched 
his camp, having given the watchword 
to them that were about him. Victory 
is God's." (II. Maccabees 13: 14-15.) 
Then addressing England's eminent, 
and the ambassadors of all the allies, 
and the vast multitude representing the 
democracy of England and of the world, 
the bishop said: 

"We comrades in the common cause 
have come together, like sturdy Judas 
Maccabeus and his fellow patriots in 
the ancient story, to commit our deci- 
sion to the Lord and to place ourselves 
in his hands before we pitch our camp 
and go forth to battle. It were an 
unworthy cause that we could not 
commit to God with complete confidence. 
To-day we have this confidence. 

"This, I venture to say, is not merely 
the beginning of a new era, but of a 
new epoch. At this moment a great 
nation, well skilled in self-sacrifice, is 
standing by with deep sympathy and 
bidding God-speed to another great 
nation that is making its act of self- 
dedication to God. That altar upon 

01 



The High Gall 



which we Americans are to-day laying 
our lives and our fortunes is already 
occupied. For nearly three years Great 
Britain and her allies have been fight- 
ing not merely for their own laws, their 
own homes, their liberty, and all they 
hold sacred, but for the great common- 
wealth of mankind. 

"To-day, when the United States avow 
their intention of giving themselves 
whole-heartedly to this great cause, the 
battle for the right assumes new pro- 
portions, a new power, and victory, aye, 
a victory that is God's, is in sight." 

The preacher voiced what the world is 
coming to feel — we are fighting for the 
life and the nobility of the human soul. 

The spiritual awakening came first 
to France, because in six weeks the 
enemy had penetrated to the suburbs 
of Paris. A desperate, unprepared 
people flung itself upon the foe in 
apparently unavailing sacrifice. Then 
a miracle happened. No, the official 
bulletins have never explained it. 
Kitchener and Koberts declared it was 
of God. But the glorious sacrifices of 
France rekindled her soul. France 
knows the spiritual meaning of the war. 

92 



Practical Patriotism 



It required one smashing blow after 
another to teach England, but England 
has learned through sacrifice, and shows 
by her purer spirit to-day that she 
knows that she fights first not for Eng- 
land but for God. 

It is hard for our nation to realize 
that we, too, have entered the struggle, 
that we are at war. Our peace and 
prosperity seem undisturbed. We have 
made no real sacrifices ; we have suffered 
no losses. We are conscious of no 
physical or material change, and there- 
fore there has been no spiritual change. 
As a nation the war has made no deep 
impression on us. Nor will the new life 
come except with sacrifice, real sacri- 
fice. Are we waiting for smashing blows 
between the eyes? Are we waiting 
until losses bring a heart-break into 
every household? God grant that such 
lessons may not be needed! But the 
vision is cleared and the soul ennobled 
only through the sacrifice of temporal 
things for eternal, of material things for 
the life and growth of the soul. The 
question we face is — shall we wait for 
enforced sacrifices, or shall we plan for 
willing sacrifices, and prepare to make 
them now? 

9S 



The High Call 



We are not dealing with problems 
which may be regarded as settled — such 
as the generous appropriation of money, 
already provided for the cause, for our 
allies and ourselves — or the administra- 
tion plan for universal service, and 
selective drafts of men as needed, which 
we have good reason to believe will soon 
become law. To-day we consider the 
next step — ^the enlistment of the nation, 
the personal help of every man, woman 
and child for a cause which is first the 
cause of God, then the cause of all man- 
kind, and then the cause of our country, 
of our own flesh and blood. Can we see 
it? Can we feel it? Can we rise to its 
call quickly? 

You must not think I am suggesting 
that this country is lacking in patriot- 
ism. The people of America are more 
profoundly patriotic than any one of 
us quite realizes. We have been equal 
to giving the world and ourselves some 
glorious surprises recently, and we 
have others in store, not less glorious. 
But it must be confessed that at the 
moment our patriotism is diffused rather 
than concentrated. A river that is a 
mile wide and a foot deep may be of 
value as scenery, but a few miles down- 

94 



Practical Patriotism 



stream, where it rushes through a rocky 
gorge, the volume of water a hundred 
feet wide and forty feet deep develops 
power and renders service. Our need at 
this moment is to concentrate the 
patriotism of America through sacrifice 
which will purify, to service which 
will help. 

What can we do? Of course our men 
are ready to go into army and navy at 
the country's call, or to render any other 
service to which they may be assigned. 
But these will be called out gradually, 
trained gradually, and it is unlikely 
that, even at the end, more than a small 
fraction of our large population will 
be directly affected by such service. Is 
there little or nothing of importance for 
the rest of us to do? Shall our brethren 
go to the war and shall we sit here? 

Consider three very real needs which 
we can all help to supply. First, there 
is an immense amount of welfare work 
for the enlisted men, which we can help 
to carry on through chaplains, the medi- 
cal officers and other well-tried agencies. 
Second, the work of the Ked Cross 
Society demands the time of thousands 
of men and women, huge stores of 
supplies, and an almost unlimited 

95 



The High Call 



amount of money. Third, the families 
of enlisted men should receive our kind 
and constant consideration. At the 
meeting of our Social Service Commis- 
sion on last Thursday I offered the fol- 
lowing resolution : 

"Whereas, this country is in a state 
of war, and large numbers of men will 
soon be enlisted in our army and navy; 

^^Resolved, that the Social Service 
Commission of the Diocese of New York 
be empowered, with the approval of the 
Bishop, to organize a Commission of 
the Episcopal Church in this diocese, 
which shall in turn organize the several 
parishes for the comfort and care of 
dependent families of soldiers and 
sailors, considering them a patriotic and 
sacred charge." 

Some of these will need friends to 
visit and cheer them. Many will need 
material help in the absence of the 
bread-winner. We can visit and share 
the sacrifice of a patriot's wife or mother. 
We can be responsible for the welfare 
of a soldier's family, supplying necessi- 
ties, advising, befriending. Some could 
care for many families, helping to repay 
men for the service they render for us, 
keeping their minds calm and their 

96 



Practical Patriotism 



hearts strong because of our care for 
their dear ones. 

Through such service we can all 
enlist, we can all renew our souls. 
It is only through the renewal of 
the souls of all the people that a new 
spiritual power can come to America. 

How can we prepare to render the 
services here suggested? Open a special 
account in a bank, and into this account 
put the results of your savings and 
sacrifices. You are willing to place in 
that account at once a sacrificial offer- 
ing for the cause of God, humanity and 
your country. Add to it by other sacri- 
fices in your power. Renounce all 
extravagances; avoid all waste, espe- 
cially waste of food; live more simply; 
wear less costly clothing ; add the results 
of these patriotic economies to your 
special account. 

Let every member of your household 
share in this real service. Encourage 
the children to have a sincere part in 
it: enter each child's name in the account 
you keep, even the baby's name should 
be entered there; they will be proud 
some day to know they had this 
share in God's great victory. At some 
definite time, every Saturday night for 

97 



The High Call 



example, make up the account of each, 
preparing to deposit it in your own war 
fund. Encourage your servants in like 
manner to save and to sacrifice, to serve 
and to find a blessing. 

Do you not feel that in such ways the 
w^hole nation mav be united in mind, in 
heart, in spirit, and may develop an 
American character more worthy of the 
world's respect, and more certain to 
insure the future usefulness and happi- 
ness of our people? There are other 
ways in which many can help; most of 
you have been asked to specify on a 
printed list some form of service you 
can render. I have ventured to suggest 
ways in which all can help, in which all 
should try to help, whatever else they 
may do. It is a plea for the concentra- 
tion of patriotism upon the certain 
and imminent necessities. It is a plea 
for the spirit of sacrifice in a holy cause. 
It is a plea that we value the blessings 
which sacrifice alone can bring. It is a 
plea that we make this simple plan effec- 
tive at once. Develop the resources, 
spiritual and material. Prepare to give 
both, at God's call, to the holiest cause 

98 



Practical Patriotism 



which ever brought nations together in 
the bonds of brotherhood. Do not wait; 
organize your own family for serv- 
ice; concentrate your patriotism; begin 
to-day. 

"We shall do so much in the years to 
come, 
But what have we done to-day? 
We shall give our gold in a princely sum, 

But what did we give to-day? 
We shall lift the heart and dry the tear. 
We shall plant a hope in the place 

of fear, 
We shall speak the words of love and 
cheer ; 
But what did we speak to-day? 

"We shall be so kind in the after-a- while, 
But what have we been to-day? 
We shall bring to each lonely life a smile. 

But what have we brought to-day? 
We shall give to truth a grander birth, 
And to steadfast faith a deeper worth, 
We shall feed the hungering souls of 
earth; 
But whom have we fed to-day? 

99 



The High Call 



"We shall reap such joys in the by and by, 
But what have we sown to-day? 

We shall build us mansions in the sky, 
But what have we built to-day? 

'Tis sweet in idle dreams to bask, 

But here and now do we do our task ; 

And this is the thing our souls must ask, 
What have we done to-day?" 

On each fateful day of our high 
endeavor, now and later, when our lads 
in army and navy are, like loyal Tommy 
Atkins, "a-doin' and a-dyin','' let us have 
a worthy answer to the question our 
souls must ask. When our brethren go 
to the war we shall not sit here. Our 
very souls will follow them, and our 
hands and hearts will be inspired by a 
patriotism that saves and sacrifices; 
that prays and works. 

That is our plan; that is our prayer. 
O Saviour of the world, help us to fulfil it ! 



100 



A 3^nttripk 0f SnUrprttntmn 

(April 29, 1917) 

"God is lighTj and in Him is no darkness at all." — 
I. John i. 5. 

THE stream of life is stirred to its 
depths by mighty, significant events. 
To many this troubling of the 
waters brings doubt and questioning. 
The events may have significance, even 
divine significance, but anxious folk can- 
not read their meaning, and their hearts 
fail them for fear of the things which 
have come upon them, upon their coun- 
try, and upon the world. They believe 
in God, but they fear that He has lost 
control of the earth for the moment, or 
else that nearly all mankind is in 
rebellion against Him, a rebellion the 
more dangerous because it is the result 
of self-deception, and is justifying itself 
as acceptable and blessed in His sight. 
^Not many people are saying such 
things, but very many are troubled at 
times, and occasionally nearly every 
one of us becomes mystified, or doubt- 
ful, and therefore weakens and falters 
in the race that is set before us. Is it 
possible for us to understand God? Is 
there any principle of interpretation 

101 



The High Call 



whiclL will help us to know Him, and 
the manner and extent of His participa- 
tion in our life and in the events which 
make up human history? Such an in- 
terpretation, clear and convincing, is 
given in our text, ^^God is light, and in 
Him is no darkness at all." 

Although ^light' and ^darkness' are 
figures of speech, they are intensely 
vivid. Light suggests joy; darkness 
suggests sorrow. Light brings life; 
darkness attends death. Light reveals; 
darkness conceals. Therefore we are 
disposed to think that mystery departs 
with the night, that the joy of full 
knowledge comes with the light of the 
sun. That is a serious error. The mys- 
teries of darkness are mysteries of 
ignorance; the mysteries of light are 
mysteries of knowledge, and the mys- 
teries of knoAvledge are greater, they 
are as sublime as they are inspiring. A 
peasant living in a little valley girt 
round with high mountains may have 
strange thoughts about the world out- 
side, but when he becomes ambitious 
and climbs out of his valley, ascends a 
lofty peak, and beholds something of 
the glory of the world and the beauty 
of great cities spread out before him, the 

102 



A Principle of Intrepretation 

wonder and tlie mystery grow with Ms 
larger light. Mystery increases with 
knowledge and reaches its climax when 
we try to look unabashed at Him who 
is the source of all knowledge. He is a 
light too bright for human eyes. But 
He is light, not darkness. 

There has never been a time in human 
history when vast hosts of men, whole 
nations, were so ready as they are 
to-day to die for ideals. Nations that 
seemed godless, men who seldom name 
the Deity except in blasphemy, have dis- 
covered that certain invisible principles 
are dearer to them than the lusts of the 
flesh, dearer than life itself. The essen- 
tial nobility of the human soul, its 
divine relationship, was never so appar- 
ent: the Spirit is bearing witness with 
their spirits that they are the children 
of God. What are they defending? For 
what are they laying down their lives? 
It is not gold, nor land, nor fame, nor 
power; they say it is for liberty, for 
humanity, for civilization. These are 
ideals which God planted in man; they 
are God's purpose for all His people, 
and men are giving their lives that 
His purpose may not be frustrated or 
delayed. 

103 



The High Call 



At other times we liave carefully ex- 
amined the foundations of our belief, the 
reasons for our faith in God and our 
certainty of His infinite power, wis- 
dom, goodness and love. The first 
essential of faith is that it shall be 
worthy of God, worthy of man, worthy 
of the vast universe which is an effect 
so infinite that only an infinite Cause 
can explain it. The second essential of 
faith is that it shall be lived. Real faith 
is a habit, as obedience is a habit, and 
service is a habit. Truth is lived until 
it becomes reality ; and reality can stand 
the severest tests. 

Here Ave may discover the reason for 
our doubts, our weakness, our despair, 
or our resentment. Let us examine the 
case of the children. Their troubles are 
very real to them, though to you they 
are trivial and largely imaginary. They 
are forced to learn hard lessons; they 
are urged to perform difficult tasks; 
their plans are often defeated; they 
experience disciplines that are sometimes 
severe. Often life is dark and dreary for 
them, not bright and beautiful. You 
would save them unhappiness if you 
could. You know that your teaching 
and training and discipline are proofs 

104 



A Principle of Interpretation 

of your wisdom and love. But how can 
you prove it to a child? Will you per- 
mit evil spirits to control him? Will 
you permit ignorance, wilfulness and 
selfishness to destroy one you love, and 
through that one to hurt countless 
others? You cannot if you are wise, 
and if you truly love. The lessons and 
disciplines must all be learned, and 
though the child's head and heart may 
often ache, the pain is bearable if in 
your eyes he sees shining the light of 
wisdom and sympathy? Happy the child 
who is certain that the parent knows 
best, and loves deeply. Fortunate the 
chil4 whose soul has been enlarged by 
all the developing experiences of life, 
while sustained and inspired by faith in 
the wisdom and affection which taught 
and disciplined and guided. 

Can anyone think that the divine love 
and wisdom would be less wise, less lov- 
ing in leading us? Yet, like very thought- 
less children our limitations often em- 
bitter us; our failures fill us with 
despair; the disciplines which seek to 
control the mind, the heart, the spirit, 
are resented; the inevitable disappoint- 
ments and sorrows seem to prove that 
God does not care or that He does not 

105 



The High Call 



exist ; and death is a cynical mockery of 
all human effort. It is quite as easy for 
men and women so to think of God and 
life, as it is for a wilful child to distrust 
the love which seeks to control. 

How often our love tries to teach the 
great lessons to children; how often we 
plead for the study which repays; how 
often we warn against the neglect 
which brings failure and despair! We 
know we are pointing them to the path 
of light, not to the way of darkness, 
and we know that if our counsels are 
darkness to them it is because they will 
not see. So God teaches us, my friends, 
and we fail to understand. 

Just as your child learned to walk 
and run while you hovered near; just as 
your child must not be kept apart from 
life with its disciplines of success and 
failure, of joy and sorrow, but must 
meet them all with a quiet mind and a 
brave heart, winning the precious secret 
each comes to impart, while still you 
hover near to help in an hour of need, — 
so God brings to us chances for finding 
wisdom and power, strength and cour- 
age, sympathy and patience, for gain- 
ing life's most glorious victories, but 
when He comes we are often filled with 

100 



A Principle of Intrepretation 

anger or despair. How frequently it 
happens tliat the light which God brings 
seems to our disappointed eyes to be the 
blackest darkness! Self-will has closed 
the curtains of our eyes, and night conies 
upon us in the midst of the light of God. 

Then, concerning death. How very 
stupid we are about death! The day 
that brings God's summons is our real 
Commencement Day. All our earthly 
life is a schooling, an education, a 
preparation for a larger career. The 
best we have done here is valuable not 
merely for its contribution to earthly 
life, but for the training for the higher 
service. 

Perhaps it is worth while to pause 
and remind ourselves that this is the 
testimony of every department of human 
knowledge. It is the revelation of 
science, the story of this earth, the 
record of progress in nature. "There is 
no death; what seems so is transition." 
Never before has the personality of man 
been the object of such careful study, 
such painstaking analysis. Never before 
has there been such agreement among 
scientists, students, philosophers, men 
of thought and action in every sphere of 
life, concerning the survival of per- 

107 



The High Call 



sonality after the death of the body. Not 
less interesting, and to many not less 
convincing is the calm certainty of 
millions of men facing death for the sake 
of their faith in ideals. It was a short 
step from faith in ideals to faith in God. 
With faith in God came the great Peace, 
and hundreds of letters from the trenches 
speak of God and death in terms of 
light. More and more to the men on the 
battle-front "God is light, and in Him is 
no darkness at all." During the past 
week a Canadian told me of a letter he 
recently read, sent by a wounded lad to 
his mother. The wound Avas fatal; the 
young man had less than an hour to 
live, but he was conscious and wished 
to expend his last strength in a letter to 
his mother. It was something like this : 
"Mother dear, my orders have come 
and in a few minutes I must go and 
report to my Commander at the great 
Headquarters. In these moments I am 
trying to make you know how happy I 
am; how proud to help in the holiest 
cause a man could serve. When I 
enlisted I knew such a day as this might 
come, but I do not regret it. I am happy 
in the thought that I can make my gift 
complete. But you must not worry ; that 

108 



A Principle of Interpretation 

is my only anxiety. Will you try to be 
glad and thankful with me? 

"I must go soon now, but I shall be 
happy, and safe, and waiting " 

The closing sentence was a sacred 
message of undying love, written by 
fingers beginning to falter, but sent by 
a soul that grew stronger on the thresh- 
old of Home. 

Hear another letter from an English 
lad: 

"Dearest Mother: 

"We are in for a very big fight to- 
morrow, so I am going to leave this 
note in my pocket and it will only get 
to you if I am knocked out. I just want 
to say good-bye, mother dear. I have 
had a very happy time of it, and the 
nicest lot of near relations that a man 
was ever blessed with. Don't be sorry 
for me. It is not every man who has 
the privilege of dying for all he thinks 
worth while in the world, and this old 
world without British influence for good 
and without you dear people would be 
a poor place to live in. We are fighting 
for very high ideals — ^justice, honesty 
and fair play — among nations, for the 
teachings of Christ as against those of 

109 



The High Call 



tlie devil. It is an unselfisli cause and 
one for which I am very proud to be 
fighting. I know you will be sad and I 
would not have it otherwise, but you can 
comfort yourself with the thought that 
you, too, have had to make a sacrifice 
for the noblest possible cause." 

Such messages as these help to place 
emphasis properly on the quality of 
life, not its quantity. More and more 
we are coming to feel that the death of 
sons and daughters is by no means the 
worst calamity that can come to par- 
ents. A thoughtful writer in a current 
magazine says, "Perhaps in the crowd 
at Golgotha the mother of Judas 
envied Mary as she stood below her 
crucified Son." 

"God is light, and in Him is no dark- 
ness at all;" St. John declared that he 
learned that from the Master. Cer- 
tainly it was the Master's constant 
lesson by word and example. He wore 
our flesh; all the disciplines of life He 
welcomed: all the pains He bore with 
quiet patience, and He was never less 
alone than when deserted by all men. 
God was light, and so near was the 
light that His glory shone in the face 
of Christ. 

110 



A Principle of Intrepretation 



Many of us liave tried to form a true 
idea of God. We listen to the views, 
often the criticisms, of others; we give 
attention to the theologians; we search 
our own souls for answers to our ques- 
tions. I do not undertake specific 
answers to-day. I only offer a prin- 
ciple of interpretation: Accept no theory 
of God which does not reveal Him as 
more loving than any earthly parent 
could be, more wise, more patient, more 
merciful, and more irresistibly attrac- 
tive. Hold fast to your comforting idea 
of God; keep your inspiring vision of 
life's meaning; have beautiful dreams ot 
the joy of dear ones in the Life eternal; 
and remember that all our ideas, our 
visions, our dreams are true, only as 
they are beautiful and strengthening; 
and that at their point of greatest 
beauty and comfort they are yet far 
short of the glorious facts, for the reali- 
ties of God transcend man's highest 
hopes. 

God is light, at every step of the jour- 
ney, and where this path ends and the 
other begins. He is light, and in Him 
there is no darkness, no resentment, but 

a great tenderness, as He teaches and 



111 



The High Call 



guides, disciplines and waits, waits for 
the child to yield to His light and love. 

Is it so hard to hear His voice, His 
word of encouragement or warning, of 
sympathy or command? Then let us 
at least hear the echo of our own teach- 
ing to the children. Like them, we are 
conscious of many things we shall not 
understand until we "grow up." As we 
ask them, meanwhile, to trust our wis- 
dom and our love, to believe that we 
desire only their happiness, only that 
their feet may walk in the way of light, 
so let an equal confidence in our God 
comfort and inspire us. 

This will be knoT\Ti as the time "when 
knighthood was in flower," when chivalry 
was at its best. Never were there so 
many knights or so noble; old knights 
and young — many of them mere lads, 
but all grateful for the honor of serv- 
ing, and all ready to conquer death with 
a shout or a smile, and gladly to cross 
the frontier for the higher service. It 
is light, light, everywhere light, and no 
darkness at all. 

Let us go forward in that divine 
radiance, fiiiding our comfort and cour- 
age, finding our country's true inspira- 
tion, finding the victory which shall 

112 



A Principle of Interpretation 

drive away all darkness, and flood the 
earth with a light in which the mighty 
shall look up and be humble; and the 
weak shall look up and be strong! 



113 



I 



f 



Sharif wxh ExxxBt 

(May 6, 1917) 

"He taught them as one having authority, and not as the 
SCRIBES." — St. Matt, vii : 29. 

MANY a failure at school is more 
the fault of the teacher than of 
the child. Of course, there is a 
difference in children, but the difference 
in teachers is greater, and more serious. 
The Scribes in ancient times were 
secretaries of the king, and later became 
a learned class, students and teachers 
of the law. Originally an intelligent, 
spiritual, devoted order, they finally 
became mere casuists, conventional 
teachers, mercenary, caring for them- 
selves and not for their disciples. Our 
Lord described them exactly when He 
called them "blind guides." His teach- 
ing presented the strongest contrast to 
theirs. They repeated traditions; He 
spoke as one having authority, as one 
whose teaching flowed from the foun- 
tain of pure truth. They scorned to 
waste their time on any save the schol- 
arly class; "He had compassion on the 
multitudes, scattered abroad as sheep 
having no shepherd." When they spoke 
vaguely of the Kingdom of God as a 

115 



The High Call 



thing far off, He proclaimed that it 
was even then nigh at hand. When He 
instructed the people, it is easy to 
believe that many must have declared 
in deepest sincerit}^, "Master, we know 
that Thou art true, and teachest the 
way of God in truth," for He revealed 
the three essential qualifications of a 
successful teacher — knowledge, sympa- 
thy and faith. 

Ejiowledge is of little value to the 
teacher unless he can impart it, and 
for that human sympathy is necessary. 
The teacher must have understanding 
of the pupil, must be able to stand 
where he stands, see what he sees, feel 
what he feels, before he can intelligently 
and successfully lead the pupil from 
his present position onward and upward 
to larger truth. So, to knowledge the 
teacher must add sympathy, and to 
sympathy he must add faith — confidence 
that when the pupil is properly taught 
he will follow the teaching and produce 
worthy results. 

Our Lord's teaching consisted of the 
things the world most needed to know, 
then and now. His sympathy was such 
that not only thoughtful men and women 
sought His instruction, but "publicans 
ii« 



Teach and Trust 



and sinners drew near for to hear Him," 
and little children pressed close to the 
Teacher who understood. Not less con- 
spicuous was our Master's faith in 
humanity, — "Teach them and trust 
them," one might almost hear Him say, 
as an explanation of His plan, and as 
a direction to be followed by His 
disciples. 

Before we enter upon a deeper study 
of our Lord's method let us look out 
upon the world-conditions to which we 
shall apply it. Our country, more than 
any other in the world, believes in this 
way of dealing with great human 
problems. Eead the writings of our 
statesmen, the official papers of our 
greatest presidents, and you will find 
them unanimous in contending for a 
doctrine which is peculiarly American, — 
give the people the fullest information, 
and then have confidence in their deliber- 
ate judgment; teach them and trust 
them. This doctrine is the explanation 
of the public school and the ballot-box, 
significant symbols of our freedom. And 
yet we have not achieved a reasonable 
confidence in ourselves or in others. 

At the beginning of this year many 
of the intelligent people in the East 

117 



The High Call 



doubted the patriotism of the rest of 
the country. To us the most serious 
problem in the world was that of arous- 
ing the conscience of America. We were 
mistaken, the real problem was not to 
arouse, but to inform. Consider the 
progress of events, and their meaning; 
they throw a bright light upon many 
other nations and their problems. Four 
months ago a man would have been 
jeered at had he ventured to predict 
the developments which have taken place 
in this country in that brief period. 
Then, our staunchest patriots seemed to 
doubt the will-power of the President, 
the intelligence of Congress, and the 
spirit of the nation. To-day these doubts 
have given place to profound confidence. 
What has caused the remarkable change 
in the attitude of the people? They have 
been informed. When the German am- 
bassador received his passport the 
news reached the remotest corner of the 
land, and the meaning of it informed a 
people who believed that their Presi- 
dent had exhausted the resources of an 
unparalleled patience, and that he had 
been deliberately forced to the point 
where no other honorable course was 
possible. Later, the President's message 

113 



Teach and Trust 



declaring the existence of a state of war 
was an appeal to reason, it informed 
the nation, and as soon as it reached 
the multitudes, far and near, we mar- 
velled at the response and increased our 
confidence in the people. Money was 
needed for ourselves and our allies. But 
who believed that Congress would appro- 
priate seven billions at one time? Men 
were needed, but who believed that 
universal service, so-called conscription, 
would quickly become law? And yet 
out of nearly six hundred members in 
the two houses of Congress there were 
cast but thirty-two negative votes. Was 
there ever a more perfect vindication 
of the soundness of the American doc- 
trine—teach them and trust them? 

We have other problems that in nor- 
mal times may become critically serious 
—problems of aliens, of labor and 
capital; these may all be solved by 
knowledge, sympathy, and faith in the 
trustworthiness of people when they 
clearly understand. 

The most perplexing human problem 
at this moment is presented by the peo- 
ple of Kussia. Before we criticise let 
us try to understand. The masses of 
the Eussian people are largely untaught. 



119 



The High Gall 



they are iminformed. Possessed of deep 
religious feeling, capable of high artistic 
development, longing for self-expres- 
sion, they have been repressed, dis- 
trusted, crushed, and, now that the 
great war for human ideals has informed 
them, they have seized their liberty. 
The light of the sun blinds the eyes of 
the prisoner just released from a dark 
dungeon. What wonder that the Rus- 
sian masses do not know how to use 
wisely their new-found freedom? What 
Russia needs is not criticism, but under- 
standing; she does not deserve distrust 
but guidance. Doubtless she needs 
money, doubtless our railroad experts 
could solve her transportation problems, 
but more than money or munitions or 
railroads Russia needs and deserves at 
this hour the presence and help of the 
ablest statesmen which England, France 
and America can send. While we are 
wasting valuable time in unworthy and 
meticulous cavillings against the pro- 
posed personnel of the commission, we 
are denying the absolutely necessary 
counsel and statesmanlike guidance 
which the Russian people deserve. Let 
the great nations turn their criticisms 
upon themselves, and let them hasten 

120 



Teach and Trust 



with the knowledge and sympathy and 
faith of which the Eussian people are 
worthy. The great democracies of the 
world ought to know how to give their 
best for the guidance of the new mem- 
ber in their family. Let them give it 
quickly, and Russia will be steadied, 
will find herself, and will be worthy 
of respect. 

"Teach them and trust them" is a 
doctrine far-reaching morally and geo- 
graphically. Some day it will solve 
the German problem. This is the most 
perilous human problem which ever 
threatened the world. It is explained 
by a system of intensified misinforma- 
tion, of perverted ideals, which for a 
generation have trained the German 
people. The only hope for them and 
for the world is to make them teachable, 
to destroy the false obsessions which 
have led them to ruin and caused the 
most tragic suffering ever known. When 
the command is fulfilled, "Take away 
her battlements, for they are not the 
Lord's," when the German people under- 
stand what the ideals of the world are 
to-day, when they realize what it is we 
love in them, and what it is we hate, 
we shall see a new Germany in this 



121 



The High Call 



world. But before they can be trusted 
they must understand. 

The case is not different with Japan 
and China. We must help them to 
understand, and they will be worthy 
not only of trust but of admiration. 
America needs a corps of diplomats 
of highest intelligence and character, 
men capable of interpreting the ideals 
essential to human safety and happi- 
ness, the principles which alone can 
bring a reasonable success to all. We 
need teachers of humanity, equipped 
with knowledge, sympathy, and faith 
in mankind. 

The informing power of the great 
war is making us better understood in 
Central and South America, but only 
by a fair exchange of visits by the best 
men that we and they can send will we 
attain that degree of understanding 
and respect which is the basis of true 
friendship between nations. Most of 
us have something to learn and some- 
thing to teach; let us exchange knowl- 
edge and sympathy and faith; let us 
give each other our best, with confi- 
dence in the principle, '"teach them and 
trust them." 

If anyone is disposed to doubt the 

122 



Teach and Trust 



truth or the power of this doctrine let 
him remember that it was Christ's 
method; none other taught as He did, 
and none other so fully believed in the 
trustworthiness of human nature when 
properly taught. We remember that it 
is the only method which in our child- 
hood deeply affected our personal con- 
duct and character; when we were 
taught with sympathy and were trusted 
we always tried to justify the confi- 
dence. 

But the most significant evidence of 
the truth of our principle remains 
in the recent example of our own 
country. Within four months an 
incredible development took place; the 
people were informed, and their action 
lustified the confidence and admiration 
of the civilized world. What was accoua- 
plished here can be done elsewhere, and 
must eventually be accomplished every- 
where. False teaching, lack of teach- 
ing, lead to misunderstanding and strife. 
Knowledge, sympathy and faith m hu- 
man nature will lead mankind to happi- 
ness and success. Upon our people will 
rest the chief responsibility for helping 
the nations to understand and respect 
each other. 



123 



The High Call 



You are thinking, perhaps, that for 
the great awakening which has come to 
our land I am not giving due praise to 
the influence of God upon us. That is 
far from my intention. It is not only 
easy for me to believe that He has urged 
us to inform the people, to toil early 
and late, and not to hold our peace, but 
I also find it easy to believe with St. Paul 
that we are encompassed with a great 
cloud of witnesses, the valiant ones of 
the former days, and that these have 
had more than a spectator's part in 
bringing this nation to a vision of right 
and duty. It is not hard to believe that 
in that great company of unseen spirit- 
ual helpers were the wise and brave 
founders of this nation, telling us that 
the great war is in defense of the prin- 
ciples which gave birth to this nation, 
and bidding us hasten to secure the 
rights of all free peoples, to make life, 
liberty and happiness possible on this 
earth. Indeed, this same thought was 
in the mind of some nameless friend 
who recently sent me an impressive 
poem entitled "The Patrol," and describ- 
ing the part our former heroes may 
have had in our great awakening. 



124 



Teach and Trust 



'Look! Can you see them there in the moonlight? 

Hark! Can you hear them clattering past? 
With a jingle of curb and a rattle of saber, 

And a joyful song on their lips at last! 

"Death! Do you think that it could hold them, 
Those who died for their country's sake? 
Their reward that they gallop the highways 
Keepmg the souls of their sons awake. 

"Months they have gone in a wondermg sorrow. 
Hearing the talk of the country-side. 
Alien whisperings, timorous comforts 

Clouding the freedom for which they died. 

"Bowing their heads in shame and wonder; 
Hearing their honor held less than life; 
The flag they died for a bit of bunting. 
And foul shame better than open strife. 

"They who joyfully gave their utmost, 
Glorying greatly that they might give 
Body and life that God had lent them, 

That a nation's name and their souls might live, 

"Who can wonder they rode in sorrow, 
Shouting aloud to their sleeping sons! 
Who can wonder at their rejoicing 

That now at last they've awaked our guns! 



125 



The High Call 



"Look! Can you see them there in the moonlight? 
Hark! Can you hear them clattering past? 
With a jingle of curb and a rattle of saber, 
And a joyful song on their lips at last!" 

Eemember, they developed the Ameri- 
can doctrine — teach the people and 
trust them. They are warning us now to 
do that among ourselves ; and to help the 
nations to understand and respect each 
other; and above all to send our wisest 
and best to help Eussia quickly. That 
is their counsel; that is the judgment 
of history; that is the plea of everyone 
who ever had a teacher possessed of 
knowledge, sympathy and faith; and it 
is the word from Him in whose presence 
we are to kneel for forgiveness and for 
orders, who taught as one having au- 
thority and not as the Scribes: teach 
them and trust them — the children, the 
people, the nations. 

So only, O Light of the World, can 
we follow Thy teaching, and justify Thy 
confidence ! 



126 



(May 13, 1917) 

"I SAW A NEW HEAVEN AND A NEW EARTH." ReV. XXi : 1. 

WE also can see the new heaven 
and the new earth, for the great 
change has come. Not in its 
fulness, not in its power, but it has 
come as the day comes before the sun- 
rise, and we know that another night 
has passed, never to return. Soon the 
sun will o'ertop the highest mountains 
and leap into the deepest valleys, and 
reveal a greater glory in the world. 
That hour has not yet sounded, but a 
new day is here, a dark night has gone, 
and neither earth nor heaven will ever 
again be quite the same. We are wit- 
nessing the beginning of a great stadium 
of history, the dawn of an era. 

Through the last three or four months 
we have observed a succession of events 
as mighty, as related, as inevitable, as 
the steps in the working of a law of 
nature. At each point where the thrust 
of a forceful event has changed the 
normal current of our thought and feel- 
ing we have paused to think and pray, 
to understand and interpret. 

127 



The High Call 



To-day we are gathering our national 
might for the defense of freedom and 
justice. We are confident that we are 
taking a "sword bathed in heaven." 
Before an American army feels the 
shock of war on the battlefields of 
Europe let us pause in this hour of 
earnest preparedness; let us look again 
at the earth and the sky; let us know 
beyond doubt for what we are contend- 
ing; let us try to see in the distance the 
reasonable results of our warfare — for 
the world, for ourselves, for God. 

One of the joyful discoveries of the 
war is that man is incurably idealistic. 
He did not know it; he sharply denied 
it; but to-day he confesses it, with a 
great wonder. As a boy he thrilled to 
the patriotic appeal of Patrick Henry's 
alarm, but not until now did he under- 
stand the cry, "Give me liberty, or give 
me death." What he must defend with 
his life for his own sake and his coun- 
try's he finds himself demanding for 
all mankind. He began by fearing for 
his own safet}^, his own rights, and his 
own honor. Then he discovered there 
was little satisfaction in seeming to 
possess these in a world which had lost 
them. The next step was a long one — 

188 



The Rediscovery 



the knowledge that the war began with 
an attack upon the foundations, the 
defenses, and the inspirations of human 
life; that death in behalf of these was 
more noble than life without them. This 
conviction revealed some hitherto un- 
known or unrecognized relationships. 
A genuine sympathy, a moral unity, a 
spiritual identity, with the Entente 
Allies was revealed, and has borne 
fruit in whole-hearted action. Now we 
are coming to see that ideals for which 
we and our allies are making the 
supreme sacrifice on the ground that 
they are necessary to man's life and 
happiness, are those same ideals which 
Christ taught, and which for nineteen 
centuries He has persuaded and warned 
us to follow. It is no small discovery, 
it is mighty in its implications, — that 
God through all the past has not been 
laying arbitrary commands upon His 
children, but has urged only that 
which human experience has finally 
and forever proved to be absolutely 
essential for a safe and happy human 
life. He is blind, indeed, who does not 
see resulting from this certainty a 
more intimate knowledge of God, 
a closer relationship with all hu- 

129 



The High Call 



manity, — a vision of a new heaven and 
a new earth. 

They are not really new, as the ^new 
world' is old, and ^new laws' are older 
than the world. How often a trifling 
accident, or an inspired thought, or 
some great shock, changes what had 
seemed commonplace, and makes it 
radiant with beauty and power! While 
many have been loyal to the sanctions 
of morality and religion, have kept the 
fires of idealism burning upon the altar 
of humanity, yet the dead weight of 
non-moral multitudes has made the 
progress of civilization painfully slow. 
Consider, for example, these wise words 
Avritten tAventy-five years ago: 

"God's laws are laid upon all created 
existence, from the ultimate particle 
of matter up to the highest intelligence ; 
and the higher the form of existence, 
the greater is the number of laws to 
which it is subject. More laws lay hold 
of the flower than of the ^crannied 
wall' from which it is plucked, and 
more lay hold of the brute than of the 
flower, and more lay hold of the man 
than of the brute; and the more highly 
man is developed, the greater will be 
the number of laws to which he is 

130 



The Rediscovery 



subject. His progress depends upon 
Ms obedience to law. Every law dis- 
covered and obeyed lifts him Mgber. 
^Vbat is the progress of science but the 
discovery of God's laws? And what is 
wisdom but their application to life? 
What we call our conquest of nature is 
only obedience to nature's laws. Here 
is a paradox: disobey nature's laws and 
you are her slave; obey, and you are 
her master; and the more laws we obey 
the freer and more masterful we be- 
come. If you would do me good, if you 
would save me from some impending 
evil or bless me with increased power, a 
larger liberty, a richer happiness, show 
me another divine law that I may obey. 
Unknown laws are blessings in reserve; 
steps in the upward path of the race 
not yet taken. All true progress of 
civilization is nothing more or less than 
the discovery of God's laws and their 
application to life."* 

Instantly you realize the flood of 
light the great war and its revelations 
throw upon such a statement of funda- 
mental truth. It was true to many 
before the war, but now it is becoming 
true to all, by the convincing power of 

* Josiah Strong, The New Era. 
131 



The High Call 



human experience. If we are conscious 
of this deep development, this larger 
outlook, how much greater is the change 
in the millions of men who have daily 
offered themselves for sacrifice that life 
may be safe for others. 

The hour is not far off which will 
bring to America, the most idealistic 
nation on earth, such a rediscovery of 
her ideals in the clear light of sublime 
sacrifice that heaven will seem nearer, 
humanity dearer, and life better worth 
living than ever before. Meanwhile, we 
do well to cultivate an intelligent hope, 
and to prepare for our personal share 
in the triumph of truth, our personal 
sense of newer and closer relationship 
to God and to humanity. We shall feel 
God pulsating in every throb of nature, 
sweeping through all life and history, 
as real and as present as the salt of the 
sea in every depth, every wave, every 
drop of the ocean. 

We have spoken of the clear light 
which has come to the men at the front. 
From the beginning they have declared 
that they fight for freedom, and by 
this they meant political freedom. 
Early they discovered that freedom 
is a quality of the soul. Even the 

132 



The Rediscovery 



materialist has at last confessed that 
man cannot live by bread alone. In- 
stinctively conduct has altered, habits 
have changed, a new attitude toward God 
and man is revealed. This is not "for the 
duration of the war" only. Those who 
have known these men for years will 
tell you that they are new men. Thought- 
ful persons with insight are predicting 
that these will renew the earth, will 
cleanse and inspire all human life. 
Keason and experience should prepare 
us for inspiring changes in human 
ambitions, methods and achievements. 

In a victory for humanity, infinitely 
greater than any physical or political 
triumph, our country is to have an 
honorable share. What word of coun- 
sel for the patriots in the field and at 
home will help to insure the greater 
attainment? That such a word is 
appropriate is indicated in a letter of 
a British officer published in the London 
Times last March. Writing from the 
front, he said, "I feel confident, with 
many others, that the real war is 
against social evils, and the real battle- 
ground is in the hearts of men." That 
brings the fight very close to us all. 
This is a war for freedom. The men 

188 



The High Gall 



and the nations in tlie thick of the 
struggle are being cleansed by fire, 
are finding freedom for their souls. 
That is the greater objective of the war, 
is it not? That supreme attainment 
may be striven for by all, will be striven 
for, if we are loyal, if we are ready to 
make sacrifices for a true and lasting 
victory. What canting hypocrites we 
should be to talk of fighting for free- 
dom, for humanity, for civilization, if 
we gladly remain in moral bondage, if 
we make little personal sacrifice for 
the life of humanity, if we do not 
contribute to civilization the offering of 
a nobler self! 

We need freedom from the bondage 
of extravagance. A young man who 
was a rich orphan applied to the court 
for an order compelling the trustees 
of his fortune to grant him a larger 
allowance. When the young waster 
declared that it cost him over twenty 
thousand dollars a year to live, the 
judge surveyed him carefully and re- 
plied, "It really is not worth it.'' 
America, and particularly this city, has 
developed an extravagant mode and 
degree of living which has injured her 
moral nature and made her an evil 

134 



The Rediscovery 



example to others. Never has the cost 
of liying been so high; never have our 
purchases given so little happiness. 
Life has been made complex; it has lost 
its dignified simplicity. Human efforts 
are greatest, but worth-while results 
are meagre. 

The bondage of selfishness holds 
many in its cold clasp. We feast our- 
selves; we give crumbs to others. 
Even friendship and family ties are 
desecrated by this deadly influence, 
and in the atmosphere of self-indulgence 
generous-hearted childhood yields to its 
soul-destroying power. 

The bondage of false pride weakens 
many; the desire for supremacy in 
the kingdoms of the world, the flesh 
and the devil ; the determination to keep 
up appearances at any cost, and the too- 
late discovery that the cost is ruinous. 

The bondage of low standards inevi- 
tably falling lower, has enthralled 
multitudes in this and other lands. 
Truth, justice, honor, purity, — who will 
say we have been loyal to these ideals? 
Perhaps that is why we must risk our 
lives to save them now. 

That is just the point, my friends; 
the great war for freedom is delivering 

135 



The High Call 



the human soul from bondage. Let 
that be the most inspiring element in 
the personal preparation of America's 
mighty army. May every man in the 
service apply to his own conduct the 
ideals of honor, truth, justice and hu- 
manity for which he risks his life. May 
he cast off the works of darkness and 
put on the armor of light. May he in- 
spire nobilit}^ in his comrades, and give 
to his allies an example of manhood at 
its best — rigid in self-control, cheerful 
in duty, chivalric to all women, honor- 
ing God, helping humanity, writing the 
name America across the European sky 
in letters of light that will never fade! 
And while we ask that of them, they 
who carry this country's honor and 
ours, shall we do less here at home? 
Not if our eyes are open to see the new 
heaven and the new earth. Men and 
nations are looking up to God con- 
fessing that the discipline of God is 
proven true and necessary by human 
experience. Humanity is lifting itself 
above the swine, is sick of its wasted 
and riotous living, is arising to go to 
the Father. A new appreciation of God 
is coming, a new service of mankind 
is beginning. To thoughtful men, the 

136 



The Rediscovery 



astronomers of life, tMs is very clear; 
but the feeling of a renewed idealism, a 
moral freshness, a spiritual conscious- 
ness, is influencing all the world to-day. 
Our country, and every part of it, thank 
God! is beginning to share in the 
awakening. 

"And not by Eastern windows only, 

When daylight comes, comes in the light; 

In front the sun climbs slow, how slowly! 

But westward, look, the land is bright!" 

All is bright with promise, we must 
make it brighter with fulfilment. While 
our physical and material forces are 
assembling to secure freedom for 
humanity, let our moral and spiritual 
strength be concentrated upon our 
personal contribution to victory by 
the freedom of our souls. The noble 
Earl of Shaftesbury said, near the 
end of his life, "When I feel how old 
I am, I hope it is not wrong, but I can- 
not bear to go and leave the world 
with so much misery in it." Out of this 
struggle for humanity is coming an 
enthusiasm for God and mankind. See 
the dawn of this brighter day, feel more 
at home in the thought of heaven and 

137 



The High Call 



earth, and as our young manhood is 
consecrated to God for the saving of 
His people, so those at home are con- 
secrated to the same high cause, and we 
begin by praying God to help us to save 
ourselves, help us to remember that 
ideals worth dying for are worth living 
for. That is the faith which is to-day 
the strength and the hope of the world, — 
a hope destined to be fulfilled. 

"When Washington his flag of stars unfurled, 

The cause of France and England's cause was his; 
He fought with stars eternal for a world 
Of men made free for loftier destinies. 

"France, Britain and America, ye are three; 
Yet in your widening freedom ye are one; 
What good undreamed, what world-benignity, 

Shall your new brotherhood spread beneath the 
sun? 

"Three caravels that sail uncharted seas. 
Three desert travellers on a starry quest. 
What new world waits you, past all prophecies; 
What childish Thing that man has never guessed? 

"Three in a fiery furnace; Heaven grant that here 
A form like to the Son of God appear!"* 



Elmer Ellsworth Brown, in the New York Tribune. 
138 



The Rediscovery 



O Master of men. Thy soldiers at the 
front know that Thou art with them. 
The soul of mankind has awakened at 
Thy call. Help us to share the greater 
victory which the Son of God goes forth 
to win. Accept our enlistment now! 



139 



(May 20, 1917) 

"The King's business re<3Uieed haste.-" — I. Samuel xxl : 8. 

^^fT^HE King's business required 
I haste." The man who uttered these 
^ words gave them as an explanation 
of the self -forgetful quickness with which 
he had acted. We do not need the story 
for our purpose; we need merely that 
clear-cut statement with its two impor- 
tant implications. 

Prompt action increases strength, en- 
courages friends, dismays enemies, wins 
victories. Our chief fault in all impor- 
tant affairs from Prayer to Patriotism 
is not that we fail to think, not that we 
fail to feel, but that we fail to act 
promptly when the way lies clear before 
us, and the heart is urging us on. Both 
prayer and patriotism, for example, 
begin with thought, are intensified by 
feeling, but they win their right to a 
name only when they are completed in 
action. 

Throughout the Lord's Prayer the Mas- 
ter joined petition and obedience, prayer 
and action. We are taught to appeal to 
our Father and at once to bow our heads 

141 



The High Call 



in reverence at His name. We are to 
desire above all things the coming of His 
kingdom, and therefore to pledge our- 
selves to do His will. We pray for our 
daily bread, knowing well, as an old 
farmer wisely remarked, that we pray it 
best as we follow the plow. We may not 
even beg for forgiveness without grant- 
ing it freely to others. And we know 
that in the hour of temptation all we 
have a right to ask is a blessing on 
the efforts we ourselves must make. At 
the end of the great prayer the soldier's 
hand goes up in salute: "Thine is the 
kingdom and the power and the glory" ; it 
gives the reason for prayer and for 
obedient action. 

The explanation of the apparent futil- 
ity of many of our prayers will be found 
not so much in the quality of our thought 
or our feeling, the defect is in our will. 
Why did the good resolutions die? Why 
did noble plans fail? Because we per- 
mitted doubt to develop into indecision 
and delay, with fatal results. Excuse 
ourselves as we may for being influenced 
by that sound maxim, "Be sure you're 
right, then go ahead," it still remains 
true that our lack of success is explained 
by our failure to act when we know 

142 



^^ Hurry Up^ 



enough to justify action. It is also true 
that we learn best by trying, that even 
the wisest plans must be tested and cor- 
rected by experience. The sins of inde- 
cision are more numerous and more fatal 
than those of impulsiveness. 

We shall not study the psychology of 
delay. It will suffice to indicate one of 
the strong influences which create it — 
the pressure of some unworthy desire 
which paralyses the true and courageous 
action of the will. When we are tempted 
to say of some good plan, "there is no 
hurry," we should recognize Satan's 
deadliest weapon, for no other tempta- 
tion has slain so many noble resolutions. 

You see that it is not merely action 
which is essential, but promptness, with- 
out which any real action is doubtful. 
When a good thought, a sincere prayer, 
a high resolve, has been followed quickly 
by honest action the results have inva- 
riably been substantial and inspiring. 
Even if the objective or material rewards 
were few at first, yet in the soul there 
was consciousness of increased power 
and dignity, and somewhere from the 
heights we heard, "Well done!" 

That suggests the other implication of 
our text. Prompt action increases a 

143 



The High Call 



sense of loyalty. "If any man will do My 
will lie shall know/' said our Lord. It is 
not only true that if a man has a worthy 
conception of life as a divine plan he will 
act with prompt decision, but it is also 
true that if a man determines to put into 
immediate effect his best thoughts, his 
good resolves, there comes to him the cer- 
tainty that he is obeying a Will greater 
than his own. It is such prompt action 
which has developed the best character 
the world possesses, the finest men, the 
noblest women, the greatest nations. 
Herein lies the close connection between 
prayer and patriotism, which has 
already been suggested. Patriotism is 
not mere thinking or feeling, though it 
must be both; still less is it talking, in 
spite of the testimony of the Congressional 
Record; but it is prompt action, if it is 
genuine patriotism. Who will say that 
the decision of Leonidas did not bring 
victory to Greece and confer immortal 
glory on his brave band? Even the 
charge of the Light Brigade at Balaklava 
was not fruitless ; it enriched the soul of 
a great nation, and inspired a poet to 
enshrine in deathless verse the high 
virtue of instant obedience. There was 
no hesitation in Belgium on that August 

144 



^ Hurry Up' 



day when the powerful invader offered 
the choice of shameful peace or glorious 
sacrifice. Prompt action saves the soul, 
and in the end it saves all things worth 
the saving. 

For six weeks this nation has officially 
been at war. Large plans have been 
formed; there are many evidences of 
strenuous preparation; and it is reason- 
able to believe that substantial progress 
is being made. We must not be impa- 
tient, but we must be intelligent, con- 
scientious, and insistent. If this is not a 
war in defense of right, justice and 
humanity, if this is not a war to which 
God calls us by the divinest elements in 
our character, then for His sake let us 
drop it. But if it is such a war, then let 
us echo the words of America's grandest 
old man, who, realizing the need of a 
great cause cried with all reverence, "For 
God's sake, hurry up !" 

You will pardon me for pausing here 
to speak more directly of Mr. Choate. 
Our thoughts concerning him will not 
lead us far from our theme. On Thurs- 
day morning, in the Church's last, beau- 
tiful office, a prayer was offered, begin- 
ning, "Most merciful Father, Who hast 
taken unto Thyself the soul of Thy serv- 

145 



The High Gall 



ant, Joseph Hodges Choate . . ." God's 
servant he was, and therefore the servant 
of humanity and of his country. He 
stood at the head of a great profession, 
having won his eminence with honor, and 
holding it with the unanimous approval 
and affection of his colleagues. His 
strong convictions made him a partisan, 
but in law or politics his opponents 
esteemed it a privilege to be disarmed by 
so just and courteous an adversary. Few 
examples of pure greatness, in our time, 
can compare with Mr. Choate's recent 
declaration that although, in common 
with many of his fellow citizens, he had 
severely criticised the President for 
apparent indecision and delay, he had 
later come to realize the futility of the 
President taking vital steps until the 
country understood and was prepared to 
follow him. "And now," said Mr. Choate, 
"I declare unreservedly that the Presi- 
dent was right, and I was wrong." His 
passion for justice made him both humble 
and noble. 

The admirable balance of mind, heart 
and will in Mr. Choate was constantly 
observed. When he represented us at the 
Court of St. James, the English scarce 
knew which to admire most — his bril- 

146 



<i 



Hurry Up^ 



liant intellect, his kindly wit, or tlie 
quiet persistence with which he won dip- 
lomatic victories. Scarcely ten days ago, 
in the City Hall, the Mayor informed 
Mr. Balfour that our most distinguished 
citizen, Mr. Choate, would voice our wel- 
come. Whereupon, without interrupting 
the Mayor's address, the eminent visitor 
quickly stepped down from the platform, 
advanced to Mr. Choate with out- 
stretched hand, and those who were pres- 
ent will not soon forget the strong hand- 
clasp or the look in the faces of two of 
the world's greatest men, sometimes op- 
posing diplomats, but always true friends, 
and now allies in war. 

The scene recalled another, when Mr. 
Choate returned from his duty as Am- 
bassador to Great Britain and was 
welcomed at a dinner given by The Pil- 
grims. Bishop Potter presided and intro- 
duced the distinguished guest. Looking 
quizzically at the Bishop, whom he had 
known from boyhood, Mr. Choate said, 
"Time was when Henry Potter and I 
were thought to look much alike. But 
what I have lost in grace I have gained in 
girth, which I largely ascribe to my 
recent efforts to meet John Bull half- 
way." There is the keen and facile mind, 

147 



The High Call 



the sparkling wit, tlie human sympathy, 
the love of fair-play. All these with his 
calm certainty in a divine purpose in 
human life contributed both to the num- 
ber and the greatness of his years. 

At a time when the ability of men of 
intellect and experience was directed in 
amassing great wealth, here was one who 
gave to his country and to the world his 
richest, ripest years. Countless organi- 
zations for the relief of the poor and help- 
less are mourning him in this city ; New 
York has lost her most eminent man ; the 
nation misses the citizen of maturest 
judgment; the civilized world weeps for 
one of humanity's greatest advocates, 
none greater, and yet all are thanking 
God for that life, are feeling the inspira- 
tion of the example, are recalling the 
stirring appeal of his last words, still 
echoing here. 

God grant us many such men for these 
times of peril and of sublime oppor- 
tunity! The Bang's business requireth 
haste. It is the King's business, this life 
of ours. If we are to have the joy of 
working for Him we must work with Him 
in the way of sacrifice. We are to toil 
not so much for ourselves, as for others 
and for Him. All along the way our per- 

148 



u 



Hurry Up^ 



sonal triumphs must be merely inci- 
dental to His. In His name humanity 
and patriotism must appeal and never 
be denied. And the mature years must 
be devoted solely, if possible, to unselfish 
public service. Surely, men and brethren, 
you feel the call of a noble and heroic 
example which beseeches you to step into 
the emptying front ranks, and to loosen 
the grasp upon material things while you 
free your souls to champion God and 
humanity. 

When we think of the last week of Mr. 
Choate's life we recall Lincoln^s memo- 
rable words, "the last full measure of 
devotion." It was a dramatic and glo- 
rious climax of a distinguished career. 
The last look and the last message are 
with us still — "For God's sake hurry up." 
Men of America, Mr. Balfour tells us 
that "the heart of civilization is trem- 
bling in the balance." Mr. Choate 
beseeches us to hasten with our might. 
We would not be impatient, we would not 
embarrass our government; but we must 
bring all the power of our intelligence, 
our feeling, our will, to bear upon the 
problem of putting all of our trained men 
on the battle-line at once, and of quickly 
training and transporting as large a 

149 



The High Call 



force as possible. It is the King's busi- 
ness, and it does require haste. In this 
vitally important hour unite, organize, 
urge for prompt action. Continue to 
urge, until humanity's victory is won, and 
a righteous peace shall come to all 
nations. 

Once, when the issue of a great battle 
was in doubt, the commander-in-chief 
ordered the last regiment of his reserves 
to hasten to the field in the hope of turn- 
ing the tide and winning a victory. The 
order was given; the men moved 
promptly; and the standard-bearer, hear- 
ing the sounds of the distant battle so 
quickened his pace that soon he was far 
in advance of his comrades. The colonel 
shouted to him, "Bring the colors back to 
the regiment !" but the man replied as he 
looked to the field where a great cause 
was in danger, "O Colonel, bring the regi- 
ment up to the colors !" 

That is the need of the hour. Pray, 
with all your heart, "Thy kingdom come ; 
Thy will be done." Then, let us hasten 
from prayer to action ! 



160 



A ©tjarg? to g^olbters lEnltat^b 
in tl}^ IKins^B Arms* 

(October 38, 1917) 

"Thy Kingdom Come."— St. Matthew, VI:10 

IT is not an unusual sigM these days 
to see a great regiment, recruited to 
war strength, standing under arms, 
awaiting the order of the commanding of- 
ficer. It is interesting to listen for the 
word of command and observe its effect. 
In the perfect silence we feel the power 
of these men,— the strong body, the alert 
mind, the flaming spirit, all consecrated 
t( - high cause. Suddenly the stillness is 
broken; "Forward," shouts the comman- 
der, and down the long line from company 
to company the word is passed by sub- 
ordinate officers till every man is ready 
for the completed order which quickly 
comes,— "March." Like a single, living, 
gigantic body the host moves forward, in 
perfect obedience to its laws, and we re- 
flect that two lines of one of our stimu- 
lating hymns, 

"Like a mighty army 
Moves the Church of God." 

veS of tiie Brotherhood of St. Andrew. 

151 



The High Call 



is less a statement of fact than the ex- 
pression of a firm resolve. 

Here is another regiment of enlisted 
soldiers; their discipline and training, 
their patriotism and aspiration, are 
founded upon that which has been proven 
by human experience to be true and neces- 
sary. For some years you have been with 
Christ in the school of prayer and life. 
From the closet to the street, from the 
field to the hill-side, you have prayed and 
thought and climbed with the King. For 
always you have climbed, until to-day you 
stand with Him upon a mountain top of 
vision and aspiration. As you stand here, 
ready and prepared, you know that He 
alone can give the word of command. He 
alone can give a charge to His enlisted 
soldiers. I do not even presume to be an 
officer who knows the King's mind and 
hears the King's voice, but I may aspire 
to be only a trumpet used for a moment 
to transmit a high call. Pray that the 
trumpet give no uncertain sound, that it 
attempt no excellency of its own, that it 
may reveal the King as the one who 
sounds the charge, and that they who 
know Him may recognize His voice. 

While we wait for the word of command 
let us look out upon the world; let us sur- 

152 



A Charge to Soldiers 



vey the field, and understand our time. 
Upon our mountain-top we are sur- 
rounded by tlie kingdoms of the world 
and the glory of them, but for the mo- 
ment we see them not, while we behold 
only the beauty and power of the King- 
dom, in obedience to which all human 
souls are to find their deepest joy and 
their highest efficiency. Quickly the 
thought of the world's tragedy in- 
trudes and tempts us to wonder whether 
our vision of an immortal King, and 
an eternal, ever-increasing kingdom of 
righteousness is but the baseless fabric 
of a dream. So the enemy follows 
us to an exceeding high mountain; 
let us deal with him there as did our 
King. We will not put away disturbing 
thoughts or avoid the foe in this solemn 
hour. True, it is the very climax of spiri- 
tual peace and courage, but we are not 
asking the King to permit us to remain 
here in quiet and safety, if such were pos- 
sible. We know that at the foot of our 
mountain are evil spirits which we can 
conquer only by prayer and fasting. We 
know that those who feel the King's 
cleansing touch are bidden to return first 
to their own house, and show what great 
things He hath done for them. Therefore, 

153 



The High Call 



while waiting for orders, let us try to see 
and understand the sublime task to which 
He will send us. 

Kecently I spent a memorable Sunday 
at Plattsburg. The men preparing there to 
be officers in our army represent the best 
that our country possesses, our highest 
traditions, our purest blood, our broadest 
education, our most careful training. 
To look into their faces is to be reassured, 
if need be, concerning the future of the 
nation, the triumph of right, and the pow- 
er of personal character. You realize, of 
course, the responsibility which will be 
theirs — to lead the men who carry Amer- 
ica's honor and the power to win victory 
for a holy cause. You think of the in- 
eidtable hardships, the perils, the pain, 
the death, and you find them strangely 
familiar with it. You see them brushing 
all this aside, as with clear eyes and leap- 
ing hearts they hasten to the field, which 
honors them by needing them for the de- 
fense of humanity. They know their task, 
its difficulty and its glory ; and they have 
completely consecrated themselves on the 
altar of God and country that this world 
may be safe for honest and peaceful folk. 
In huge camps hundreds of thousands of 
men are in training. They will give their 

154 



A Charge to Soldiers 



lives, if necessary, that human life, as 
they believe God meant it to be, may be 
possible on this earth. What an offering 
to God, what a sacrifice for man! It is 
easy to recognize the fruits of Calvary's 
tree. 

A vast national army goes to drive out 
of the temple of humanity the thieves and 
robbers who have desecrated and de- 
spoiled; but their work, like the Master's 
cleansing of the Temple, is but an incident 
in a vast plan. There is another army 
who are the permanent custodians of the 
ideals for which now in a great emergency 
our men are ready to die. This other 
army is the Church, the army of the 
King's enlisted soldiers. And in all this 
army I can think of no other group who 
represent as you do the best that God and 
country, home and church can give in the 
making of a man. You are those whose 
hearts God has touched, who stand among 
your fellows as citizens of a greater King- 
dom, as soldiers of the divine King. It is 
easy to give reasons for the faith that is 
in us, — why we are certain of the pres- 
ence and power of God, His wisdom and 
goodness and love ; why we are convinced 
of the deity of our Lord and the perfect 
truth of His Gospel; why we gratefully 

155 



The High Call 



receive God's revelation of Himself as our 
Father, our Brother, our Friend ; why we 
believe in a Kingdom of God, and that our 
Lord and King definitely organized it on 
this earth; and why we personally obeyed 
His call, "Follow Me," and enlisted in His 
army. Perhaps we can as easily tell men 
what are the ideals, the laws, the methods 
of that Kingdom. But can we explain 
why great victories are so long in coming? 
It is worth while to try, for in spite of 
humiliation which the true answer may 
bring, out of it will come humility and 
obedience which lead to sublime triumphs. 
A moment ago we spoke of the ideals, 
the laws, the methods of a divine King- 
dom. No man of comprehensive mind 
denies the convincing proofs of such a 
kingdom. He looks back to the time when 
the human creature was one of the small- 
est and weakest specimens of animal life 
on this globe. Unprotected from heat and 
cold, unfitted to rend and tear, unable to 
flee by diving into the sea, or soaring into 
the air, yet facing the conditions, strug- 
gling for life, flushed by each gain, refus- 
ing to make any terms other than com- 
plete surrender, until every beast lay 
prone under his conquering heel. There 
he stands, worn, weary, wounded, but vic- 

156 



A Charge to Soldiers 



torious. So will lie stand wlien tlie high- 
est truth grips him of his place of privi- 
lege and power in the divine plan which 
we call the Kingdom of God. The powers 
of darkness will not appal him, his eyes 
will glow with the joy of each conquest; 
he will consent to peace only after com- 
plete victory. Then breathless, after the 
long climb and the hard fight, breathless 
but exulting, man who won the right to 
exist and the right to rule, shall win for 
all humanity the right to live in a king- 
dom of righteousness, of liberty, of love. 
The Book of the Kingdom anticipates 
the conclusions of science and fills the 
story with personality— the most power- 
ful influence which man knows. On its 
earliest pages two flaming questions 
stand out, burning their insistent way 
into that noblest center of man's being 
which he calls conscience. To primal man, 
disobeying the known law of the King- 
dom, filled with a sense of shame and won- 
der, comes the searching demand, "Adam, 
where art thou?" At every critical step 
of man's upward journey, in every hour 
of shame or joy that question, "Where art 
thou?" has tested his understanding and 
his will. 



157 



The High Call 



A little later, a murderer driven from 
the scene of Ms crime by accusing con- 
science is halted by a question whose 
solemn tones echo down through all the 
centuries, "Where is thy brother?" 

There is a King of righteousness ; there 
is a Kingdom of truth. Man may forget, 
deny or ignore, but a sense of responsibil- 
ity for what he is and does, and responsi- 
bility for his brother, recalls him, and 
carries him forward to new triumphs of 
character and service. We read with fas- 
cination the books which describe the de- 
cisive battles of the world, and indicate 
the turning points of history. The 
thoughtful student discovers the influence 
of the same eternal principles working in 
it all. He beholds not only Matthew Ar- 
nold's "Power making for righteousness," 
but he observes the ever widening bound- 
aries of a kingdom which claims the prin- 
ciples of right, freedom, and humanity as 
its necessary foundations. He feels the 
ebb and flow of the struggle. He sees men 
stopping to establish their own kingdoms 
on a basis of rank selfishness ; but quickly 
he discovers other men of clear vision and 
loyalty, rushing to the defence, thrusting 
all shams aside, and revealing a kingdom 
more gloriously beautiful than any human 

158 



A Charge to Soldiers 



plan, and a King wlio is alone worthy of 
man's full and final devotion. These are 
the turning points of history; these are 
the decisive battles, whether in the life of 
a man or a nation, or a world. 

Such a turning point of history has been 
reached now, and civilization is fighting 
for life, and for the chance to grow. When 
the world's enlightened conscience sounds 
a call to all true men to make the world 
safe for democracy, to defend the prin- 
ciples of right, of freedom and of human- 
ity, we recognize in these the foundations 
of the Kingdom of God, without which 
happy and successful life is impossible. 
It is the glory of the day in which we live 
that millions of men on the field of battle 
are thinking more of the supreme value 
of these foundations of life than of the 
narrow relation of the struggle to the 
political welfare of their own land. Never 
was an army inspired by such practical 
ideals, and by such complete devotion. 
And yet that army cannot win a final vic- 
tory, not even when all of America's men 
and money are added. True, they will win 
this struggle, and soon, please God! but 
their victory will be but a valuable factor 
in a vast campaign. The permanent pur- 
pose, the growing triumph, lies not with 

159 



The High Call 



them, but with you — the enlisted soldiers 
of the King's army. 

It is glorious to die for immortal 
right and truth, for that helps one to 
deserve immortality, and enables a man 
to place a red line of emphasis under 
a personal declaration of essential prin- 
ciple. But there is a more glorious and 
more difficult task — to live, with stead- 
fast loyalty, the principles for which the 
other died ; to be unflinchingly faithful to 
right in my own conduct ; to free my own 
soul from the presence and power of the 
enemies I have so often secretly admitted ; 
to enlist the soul, now cleansed and par- 
doned, for helping and bringing the 
brother, and for maintaining his cause, 
which is the King's, against every foe. 
Truly, right, freedom and humanity are 
the eternal principles for which both 
armies fight. 

At this point we must deeply reflect 
upon a great word which falls too lightly 
from our lips, — the word Loyalty. It is 
obedience to the law; an obedience made 
absolute by discipline. And discipline is 
the training of a disciple, who learns wis- 
dom from a good teacher and applies this 
wisdom to life. Every forward step of 
human progress has been gained by obedi- 

160 



A Charge to Soldiers 



ence to law. Physical strength, mental 
force, moral power, are all dependent 
upon our knowledge of laws and our 
obedience. 

Several years ago in the National Li- 
brary I had the privilege of examining a 
note-book written by a boy of fifteen, 
whose name was George Washington. In 
it he recorded eighty-four rules for the 
control of his conduct and the develop- 
ment of his character. Every truth he 
discovered he applied; every law he 
learned he obeyed. There is the explana- 
tion of Washington's character and lead- 
ership. Back of his inspiring loyalty you 
behold the spirit of obedience and a 
method of discipline. 

It may be that through all the years m 
which we have prayed "Thy Kingdom 
come" we have had neither a clear vision 
of the kingdom, nor a glowing loyalty to 
its perfect plan. But we live in the begin- 
ning of a new era. The great essentials of 
life are clearer to-day than ever before. 
Earth's need of a Kingdom of God is 
everywhere acknowledged. With increas- 
ing force you have felt this as you have 
climbed with the King these three tragic 
years. And you have felt that He was 
leading you to this mount of vision for 



161 



The High Gall 



some personal touch, some word of power 
that should make you His inspired mes- 
senger, His victorious soldier. If you are 
ready, that word will be spoken, that 
touch will be given. And when it comes 
you will be "Strong in the Lord and in 
the power of His might ;" you will hence- 
forth pray "Thy Kingdom come" with a 
new knowledge and a new loyalty. That 
prayer will conquer the enemies who 
threaten the Kingdom of God within you. 
That prayer will reveal countless oppor- 
tunities for service for humanity, for 
the King and the Kingdom, opportuni- 
ties in your own family, your city, 
your parish, your school, your office, — 
you will see them all as strategic cen- 
ters to be completely won and kept 
for the King. That prayer will rob dan- 
ger and difficulty of all their darkness 
and make them radiant with the light 
of the King's presence. "Thy Kingdom 
come" is a key which opens all things, but 
only when the key is thrust into the lock. 
Obey that prayer and you will feel the 
calm certainty which moved a farmer to 
place on a weather-vane on his barn the 
words "God is Love," and in answer to the 
question why he placed such a changeless 
truth on anything so variable replied, 

102 



A Charge to Soldiers 



"Because I want my neighbors to see that 
I know that God is love whichever way the 
wind blows." 

Your new loyalty will be marked not 
only by intelligence, sympathy, certainty, 
but it will be filled with a sense of joy. 
There is no happiness like the finding of a 
noble task and the discovery that we have 
been given the power to fulfil it. This is 
the gladness that possesses first line sol- 
diers, that makes them happy and heroic 
in service for God and humanity. You 
recall the story of the color-bearer whose 
devotion urged him so rapidly to the bat- 
tle-field that he soon outstripped his com- 
rades, and when the colonel ordered him 
to bring the colors back to the regiment 
replied by beseeching the colonel to bring 
the regiment up to the colors. 

Soldiers of Christ, we are the custodians 
of ideals, the color-bearers in the army 
of the King. Up here on our mountain 
top I seem to see in the distance a little 
hill called Calvary, on which was offered 
the immortal sacrifice. I hear the high 
claim of Him who declared, "I have power 
to lay down my life and power to take it 
again." I know that He has led us to this 
height that we may lay down our lives and 
take them again, to be "a reasonable, holy, 

163 



The High Call 



and living sacrifice" for the King and the 
Kingdom. Count that all joy, soldiers of 
the first line, who go to teach the world 
to know and love the King. Count it all 
joy if your loyalty costs something — His 
did. Count it all joy that to-day's fateful 
hour is yours; that you know the King 
and the Kingdom ; that you feel the privi- 
lege of His need of you ; that you are ready 
to lay down your lives, ready to take them 
again to win the world for Him, ready at 
last for His touch and His word. When 
that touch is given it is no conventional 
accolade of knighthood; when His word 
is spoken it is no imperial command, 
^'Go !" For suddenly before us stands the 
most glorious Figure of all time. His 
hand rests on our shoulder, a hand that is 
scarred, a hand of infinite strength and 
tenderness, whose touch seems to claim 
and inspire; the hand of the King, our 
Brother. His eyes look from the world's 
darkness and shine with confidence as He 
beholds in our faces the light of our new 
loyalty. Then he speaks the word, of in- 
finite power to those who understand — 
"Come," he cries, "for all things are now 
ready, come!" 

Soldiers of the first line, with prayer- 
ful salute we answer, "Thy Kingdom 

164 



A Charge to Soldiers 



come! Master, lead on, at last we are 
ready !" 

And we will be loyal, men and women ; 
in tlie kingdom of our bodies and minds 
and souls, tbe kingdom witMn us ; in the 
Kingdom of home, with our constant rec- 
ognition of His presence; in the King- 
dom of toil, working for Him and with 
Him; in the Kingdom of government, 
where we hold this great city for right- 
eousness, honesty and patriotism, while 
we offer to our country our wealth of men 
and money for humanity's holy cause. 

"Thy Kingdom come, Master!" 

O my people, let us obey that prayer ! 



165 



(November 11, 1917) 

"I SAW HEAVEN OPENED, AND BEHOLD A WHITE H0B8B ; AND Hb 
THAT SAT UPON HIM WAS CALLED FAITHFUL AND TbUB, AND IN 
BIGHTEOU8NESS He DOTH JUDGE AND MAKE WAB. 

"His EYES WEBB AS A ELAME OF EIRE, AND ON HiS HEAD WEBB 
MANY CEOWNS . . . AND HE WAS CLOTHED WITH A VB8TUBB DIPPED 

IN blood: and His name is called Thb Wobd of God. 

"And the abmibs in heaven followed Him upon white 
hoeses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. 

"And out of His mouth goeth a shabp swobd, that with it 
He should smite the nations. . . . 

"And He hath on His vesture ... a name wbittbn, KINO- 
OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS. . . . 

"And I saw the beast, and the kings of the babth, and 
theie aemies gathebed togbthbb to make WAB against Him 
. . . and against his abmy. 

"And the beast was taken and with him thb talss pbo- 
PHET." — Revelation, xix: 11-16, 19-20. 

THIS vision of life appears at the 
end of tlie sacred scriptures. That 
unique volume begins with the story 
of the childhood of the race when obedi- 
ence was slowly learned. It continues 
with increasing interest and power to the 
coming of that fulness of time when the 
divine wisdom and love were revealed in 
the most appealing Personality this earth 
ever knew. It records His high call to all 
men, claiming them for Himself and for 
a world made better and happier by their 
united service. Near the end of the book 
are descriptions, in vivid, mystical lan- 
guage of the early results of the influence 
of Christ upon the world. At times multi- 

167 



The High Call 



tudes would turn to Him as gratefully as 
a sick man greets the rising sun after a 
night of loneliness and pain. But at other 
times the powers of darkness would mo- 
bilize their might and by force or fear, by 
bribe or subtlety win an advantage over 
the army of light. 

At the very last comes the vision 
of assured victory. Before we recall 
it let us remember that St. John who 
reveals it was pre-eminently the Apos- 
tle of Love; he was "the disciple whom 
Jesus loved/' who declared "God is love," 
and he was conspicuous for sympathy 
and gentleness. Now he is an old man 
who has witnessed many a battle be- 
tween the hosts of darkness and the 
legions of light. His eyes pierce the veil 
which obscures the future, he sees the 
growing triumph of right, he beholds the 
conquering Christ. He who is Faithful 
and True comes in righteousness to judge, 
and to lead His soldiers to battle for the 
triumph of justice and mercy. His flame- 
like eyes read the hearts of men and the 
true meaning of every event. He wears 
crowns, not those of conquered kings but 
those which proclaim Him King of his- 
tory, King of life. King of human hearts. 
King of all kings, Lord of all realms. His 

168 



Make Democracy Safe 



blood-red vesture declares not only that 
He comes to destroy the destroyers, but 
that He first shed His own blood to save 
the world before He called true-hearted 
men to follow in His train. The armies 
of heaven are seen in close ranks behind 
Him, — the souls of the righteous fighting 
for the right. "And," says St. John, "I 
saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, 
and their armies gathered together to 
make war against Him, and against His 
army." 

Doubtless history repeats itself, and 
this vivid description may have been ap- 
plied to many a crisis in the past. But 
never before has the world known a crisis 
so vast as to be worthily compared with 
the majestic vision, a crisis so desperately 
critical as to call for the combined service 
of the army of heaven, and the army of 
righteousness on earth. The beast of 
greed, of self-seeking might, of fleshly 
pleasures which spring from the earth 
and end in the earth; and the kings which 
are of the earth, earthy, these gather their 
armies "to make war against Him, and 
against His army." 

The issue which engages the world to- 
day is fully as definite as that, fully as 
divine. But it is not simple ; it is compli- 

169 



The High Call 



cated with conflicting ideals and conflic- 
ting loyalties. The beast of greed, of 
mnrder, of frightfulness must be con- 
quered; the false prophet declaring 
"might makes right" must be convicted 
out of his own mouth by the triumph of 
right. But before that can be accom- 
plished there must be reasonable unity of 
principle and purpose in the armies of 
light, and reasonable loyalty of their peo- 
ple to the King of kings and to the Light 
which shall conquer all darkness. 

Poor Kussial Just six months ago we 
pleaded from this pulpit that England, 
France and America should quickly send 
their ablest statesmen, their wisest and 
most sympathetic patriots to stand side 
by side with their Eussian brothers to 
counsel and guide in their times of un- 
certainty and peril. Not merely a few 
able men for a few days, but a large, com- 
prehensive company, experts in liberty 
and law to abide with them through their 
inevitable time of trial. However credit- 
able the effort of the allies to help Russia, 
they have not been commensurate with 
the obvious need. 

Two outstanding phases of the Russian 
revolution should be thoughtfully con- 
sidered. First, that it began as a triumph 

170 



Make Democracy Safe 



for democracy, for the recognition of the 
equal rights of all the people. The fre- 
quent use of the word socialism in this 
connection seemed to imply a benevolent 
administration for the happiness of all, 
and a relentless war against autocracy, 
whether it threatened Russia within or 
without. What has happened? TheBolshe- 
viki, the Socialist group at present in 
power, so far deny the equal rights of all 
that they declare that they only are cap- 
able of ruling; they have seized the gov- 
ernment by force, destroying the lives and 
liberties of their own people, while they 
strive for peace at any price with the en- 
emies of their country. They have erected 
an autocracy of their own, and would 
make peace with the ruthless autocracy 
which deliberately brought on a world- 
war for purposes of robbery. Doubtless 
they know not what they do. Criticism 
directed against them is apt to be unin- 
telligent and unfair. They deserved the 
help of a great company of the ablest and 
most devoted leaders in Christendom, and 
they were not there. 

Another significant fact is the contempt 
expressed for the Bourgeoisie — the people 
of education, substance and position. 
There is reason to believe that this con- 

171 



The High Call 



tempt arose not so much because of the 
possession of privileges as because their 
possessors failed to offer all at the begin- 
ning of the revolution to help Eussia to 
find true freedom. The natural leaders 
did not lead. The privileged class is apt 
to be timid, selfish, to hold their privileges 
for themselves, rather than to use them, 
even to sacrifice them for the common 
good. Here again, however, one hesitates 
to criticize. All of Russia needed adequate 
and constant help and guidance, and Rus- 
sia has not received it. The great re- 
sources of England, France and America 
are combined in a mighty defense of 
liberty, "to make the world safe for de- 
mocracy." Meanwhile, as of old, "O Lib- 
erty, what crimes are committed in thy 
name!" It is time that we make demo- 
cracy safe for the world. 

For example, there is an increasing So- 
cialist propaganda in America. It is 
formidable in size, and becoming destruc- 
tive and disloyal in its teaching. Is the 
intelligence and character of America at- 
tempting to meet this with justice, wis- 
dom and firmness? Most of the Socialists 
have heard only one side of the question. 
Over eighty per-cent. of the population of 
this city is foreign-born, or of foreign-bom 

172 



Make Democracy Safe 



parents. We Ijourgeoisie are a small part 
of the remaining twenty per-cent. But 
if we are inspired by the ideals of law 
and liberty, of justice and humanity such 
as led our fathers to found this republic, 
then we will count our time and money, 
our privileges, even our lives, as well 
given to preserve the republic and to 
make government of the people, by the 
people, for the people, safe for the whole 
world. 

If the armies of light are to conquer the 
beast of greed and the kings who follow 
him, then in our armies and in our people 
must there be unity of purpose and prin- 
ciple, — the world safe for democracy, and 
democracy safe for the world. 

Perhaps some one has been wondering 
what ought to be said of the dishearten- 
ing news that much of the trouble in Kus- 
sia and the recent reverses in Italy are 
the result of easy disloyalty and a greed 
for bribes. Let it be said that the charge 
is probably true, and that it is particular- 
ly lamentable in the case of Italy, a 
country with the old Eoman traditions 
of loyalty and courage, a country where a 
great church has had undisputed sway 
and the fullest chance to train her people, 
where more than in any other country on 

173 



The High Call 



earth bishops and cardinals abound, the 
divinely commissioned leaders in the path 
of duty and sacrifice. We will believe that 
these officers in the army of light will yet 
arouse their nation, and help Italy to 
be worthy of her past and her privileges. 

Here again the criticism recoils. We 
are not yet doing our utmost for the free- 
dom of mankind. Our men have the abil- 
ity to prevent profiteering at this time, 
to prevent the unjust making of money 
out of the government or out of the people 
because of the chances which war brings. 
It is an important patriotic duty to pre- 
vent such practices at once, or to disprove 
the charge. To avoid such a duty is to en- 
courage the spirit of anarchy. 

A million homes are beginning to know 
and to understand a beautiful new guest 
whose name is Sacrifice. Without her no 
greatness of soul is possible; with her no 
greatness is impossible. She is redeem- 
ing mankind today, and no one in America 
can afford to miss her blessing. At this 
moment the most precious rights of hu- 
manity are trembling in the scale. Mil- 
lions have died for these, perhaps millions 
more must die. But they must not die in 
vain. The victory will be gained for the 
light of the world? Yes, but it cannot 

174 



Make Democracy Safe 



come until the armies of light are united 
in purpose and principle, in complete, 
self-sacrificing loyalty to the King of 
kings and His truth. 

That is the answer to the question, how 
long will the war last? It will last until 
sacrifice leads us unto the heart of life's 
meaning. Some day the world will love 
Sacrifice, and not compel war to bring her 
to our homes. Health is God's will for us, 
not disease ; and peace, not war. But when 
our neglect or disobedience bring pain, 
when we bring on war, the Good Physician 
must offer the bitter draft to effect a 
cure, the Divine Surgeon must cut deeply 
to save the life. The war must not end 
until it ends right. A thousand times you 
have heard that said. It is true. The soul 
is of more value than the body, and the 
soul of the world than the bodies of mil- 
lions. The faithful ones are with Christ, 
and none can hurt those who ride with 
Him in the army of heaven. 

Yes, the beast of greed will be con- 
quered and the false prophet shamed, but 
not until hand in hand with shining Sacri- 
fice we conquer greed in ourselves, and fill 
our hearts with the truth and light of 
Christ. The world must be rebuilt, human 
life must have better foundations, must 

175 



The High Call 



be safer and happier. We stand today at 
the cross-roads of history. A few years, 
perhaps a few months will determine the 
course of centuries. The opportunity is 
the most inspiring challenge man ever 
heard. Christians will sacrifice for their 
Master or see Him shamed before the 
world. When the issue is understood the 
result will not long remain in doubt. 
Sacrifice is an unwelcome guest at first, 
but she will fill the house with light and 
peace and joy. 

Many a soul knows the struggle de- 
scribed by George MacDonald : 

I said^ "Let me walk in the field." 
He said, "Nay, walk in the town." 
I said, "There are no flowers there." 
He said, "No flowers, but a crown." 

I said, "But the skies are black. 
There is nothing but noise and din." 
But He wept as He sent me back, 
"There is more," He said, "there is sin." 

I said, "But the air is thick. 
And the fogs are veiling the sun." 
He answered, "Yet souls are sick. 
And souls in the dark undone." 

I said, "I shall long for the light 
And friends will miss me, they say." 
He answered me, "Choose tonight 
If I am to miss you, — or they !" 

176 



Make Democracy Safe 



I pleaded for time to be given. 

He said, "Is it hard to decide? 

It will not seem hard in heaven 

To have followed the steps of your guide." 

I cast one look at the field 

Then set my face to the town. 

He said, "My child, do you yield.'* 

Will you leave the flowers for the crown?" 

Then into His hand went mine 
And into my heart came He, 
And I walk in a light divine 
The path I had feared to see. 

Into that light divine our soldiers are 
marching, joining their allies and the 
heavenly host in a holy war to redeem 
mankind. 

Here is our task, our peril, the challenge 
of a vast opportunity, — to make demo- 
cracy safe, to conquer the beast of greed, 
to walk with Sacrifice into the light. O 
conquering Christ, grant victory to our 
army there, and to our army here, that 
loyalty and sacrifice may keep the world 
in the light of God! 



177 



KfUtmoth 

THE most significant note of the 
Christian Church from the very be- 
ginning was its optimism. Not a 
blind disregard of facts, nor a stoical in- 
difference to persecution, for the record is 
filled with vivid descriptions of peril and 
pain. But these loyal followers of Christ 
certain of victory, were sure that they 
were winning a great triumph for God, 
for mankind and for themselves, whether 
they continued their service here, or in 
the spiritual army of their beloved Cap- 
tain. 

Saint Paul speaks quite frankly of his 
trying experiences, and the bitter pains 
awaiting him, but declares "none of these 
things move me, neither count I my life 
dear unto myself, that I may finish my 
course with joy." In his letter to the 
Christians at Corinth he describes what 
the reasonable frame of mind should be — 
"As sorrowful, yet alway rejoicing." 
Keason enough there was for sorrow, for 
the world's sin, and pain, and for the 
agonies which they and their dear ones 
endured in fighting the good fight; but 
there was even greater reason for joy in 

178 



their certainty of a divine Leader, and the 
sure victory of light over darkness. Eea- 
sonable persons admit that such a faith 
has been justified by nineteen centuries of 
human experience, and that those who 
were inspired by it have been the lights of 
the world in their several generations. 

Now the call has been heard by America, 
to show her faith by her deeds. We have 
been forced into war by repeated attacks 
upon our citizens and our ships, by intol- 
erable outrages against civilization and 
humanity, by attempts to destroy the 
foundations of international law and 
honor, and by the certainty that if Ger- 
many be not conquered in Europe we must 
fight her here in America. 

Moreover, the principle "noblesse ob- 
lige" impels us to stand by France in 
her hour of trial. In that bitter winter 
at Valley Forge Lafayette came to Gen- 
eral Washington, and soon through help 
from France new hope inspired our peo- 
ple. Now France needs us, and a few days 
ago General Pershing laid a wreath on 
the tomb of Washington's friend, saying, 
"Lafayette, we have come." 

The shock of battle awaits us, the agony 
of pain, and the sorrow of death. But a 
song of triumph and a vision of a greater 
America answering the call of humanity 



179 



fill our hearts with a gladness which will 
conquer all pain. Never was our country 
so united as today, never have all hearts 
so throbbed with generous sympathy, 
never have men cared so much for each 
other, or thought so much of God. Soon 
we shall remember no more the sorrow, 
for joy that a nobler America is born into 
the world, and a nobler world is shining 
in the radiance of God's approval. 

After long centuries Jerusalem and 
Bethlehem are in Christian keeping. Let 
this mean for us that the victory of Him 
who loved the people and laid the only 
foundations of a true democracy cannot 
be long delayed. Again He walks our 
streets, again He calls us to follow Him, 
and again the way of sacrifice is the way 
of light and life. 

"Draw near, my friends, and let your thoughts he high ; 
Great hearts are glad when it is time to give. 
Life is no life to him that dares not die, 
And death no death to him that dares to live. 
Draw near together; none be last or first; 
We are no longer names, but one desire." * 



* Henry Ne^olt, "Sacramentum Supremum." 



Deacidified using the Bookkeeper process. 
Neutralizing agent: Magnesium Oxide ■ 

Treatment Date: ^^y 2OOI 

PreservationTechnologies ] 

A WORLD LEADER IN PAPER PRESERVATION | 

111 Thomson Park Drive i 

Cranberry Township, PA 16066 l\ 



nOA\ 77Q-91 



